TES Episode 5: Husband and Wife
by John the Enforcer
Summary: The fifth episode sees John and his loved one reunited...but there are complications that strive to keep them separate...


THE ENFORCER SAGA  
  
Chapter Five: Husband and Wife  
  
by   
  
John "the Enforcer" Fadeley  
  
The date: May 31st, 3237. The place: The Mobadan System. Of all forces in the galaxy, none is more powerful than love. Love can change the cold-hearted and the stubborn. Love can even bring two people from different sides of society together. Unfortunately, love does have its risks...  
  
Late evening. The Floating Island. The speeder made its final approach to the northern outskirts of Echidnopolis. Its driver was very wary. Calls for the product he was carrying were normally within the city.  
  
However, the client was certainly very rich and impatient about receiving the shipment and he certainly did not want to get on a client's bad side.  
  
He then noticed a bright light coming from the forest and saw several figures standing there.  
  
"That must be him." the driver, a red echidna by the name of Jarvis, thought. He drove up, then stopped in front of them. The lights of the speeder revealed his clients.  
  
One was a tall crocodile with a pair of headphones.  
  
Another was an armadillo with a red, armor-like back.  
  
Another was a rather tubby-looking robot with grey armor plating.  
  
Another was a purple-scaled chaemeleon.  
  
Another was a small bee with an aviator's cap on.  
  
Their leader was a blue-skinned echidna who wore red-rimmed glasses and a black leather trenchcoat.  
  
As he got out of the vehicle, his heart nearly stopped.  
  
The crocodile and chaemeleon were pulling out blasters!  
  
"Hold it, boys!" the echidna said in a tenor voice, gesturing to them to put their weapons away. He then turned to Jarvis and said, "Do you have the delivery?"  
  
"Y-y-yeah. Yeah, I've got it." he said as he went for the "delivery". "Oh, man! What've I gotten myself into?" he wondered. He then brought out the leathery bag with the delivery.  
  
"Vector! Heavy! Check it!" the blue echidna ordered to his crocodillian lieutenant and the robot.  
  
"Sure thing, boss!" the croc replied in a deep, gravelly voice.  
  
"As you command, sir." the robot answered in a puffy, servant type, deep voice.  
  
They rushed forward and snagged the bag from Jarvis.  
  
"Hey! Wait a minute! What about my pay?!" he demanded angrily...just the blue echidna turned to face him, his eyes glowing a frightening blue. Jarvis was paralyzed!  
  
"You shall get what's coming to you soon enough." he reassured. He then looked over to the croc and bot and asked, "Well, Vector?"  
  
Vector opened the boxes one by one, sniffing the products. "Let's see...*sniff-sniff* Pepperoni, sausage, beef...ah, the meat lover's supreme...*sniff-sniff*...Four cheese...This one's yours, bossman!...*sniff-sniff*...pineapple, apple and orange slices, olives...Yo, Mightster, I think this one's yours!...*sniff-sniff*...dragonflies, wasps, hornets...Espio, you're one sick puppy to eat this crap!...*sniff-sniff*...honeycombs, sugar...Hey, Charmy, this one's for you!...*sniff-sniff* jalapino peppers...Yep, this is Neon's! They're all here, boss-echidna!"  
  
"Good. Heavy?" the blue echidna asked of Heavy, who was going over the products with a scanner.  
  
Heavy then went over to the blue echidna and whispered, "The scans didn't reveal any toxins, poisons, venom, or any hazardous chemicals whatsoever. The pizzas are clean...except for the one Vector's drooling over."  
  
"Excellent. The delivery has been made successfully." he whispered back.  
  
He then turned to the delivery boy and slowly approached him, saying, "And now, to deal with you."  
  
Jarvis was terrified as he watched the blue echidna reach into his trenchcoat for something that looked big enough to be a gun! It was...only the blue echidna's wallet.  
  
"How much?" he asked.  
  
"Um...Sixty mobiums, sir." Jarvis replied.  
  
"Sixty? Man, you guys are getting expensive." the other echidna replied as he dug out three twenty-five mobium notes. He then stuffed them in Jarvis' front pocket, which had an embroidered "Jerry's Pizanno Pizza". "Keep the rest for your tip."  
  
"Gee...thanks. Have a good night, sir." Jarvis said.  
  
"You, too." the blue echidna said, not looking him in the eye as he turned to join his comrades.  
  
Jarvis then got into his speeder and drove away, not believing his good fortune.  
  
The blue echidna, better known as John the Enforcer, went over to his friends, known collectively as the Chaotix and said, "Hey, save the eatin' for when we get back into the base, you guys!"   
  
"Right...Neon..." Vector said, his mouth full of his pizza.  
  
John then slapped his head and thought, "Sometimes, this leader thing has its downsides..."  
  
John went to pick up his pizza, like the others and head back into his home, FICC or Floating Island Central Command. Buried two miles below the surface of the Floating Island, he and his friends ran a complex base of operations. Everything from John's spy network to the manufacturing of the new "Enforcer Drones", echidna-shaped robots programmed specifically for maintenace and janitorial service.  
  
But as John bent down, he felt something, like a knife stabbing at his chest. He let out a slight, audible moan, which quickly grabbed the attention of his comrades.  
  
"Yo, bossman! You okay?" Vector asked.  
  
John quickly recovered and replied, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm alright. Let's just head home."  
  
Heavy looked over to his leader and muttered inaudibley, "Very curious..."  
  
As the Chaotix and their leader entered one of the Zoom Tubes that lead from the surface down to the base, they were unaware that someone had hitched a ride...  
  
"It's about time you guys decided to get down here with the food!" Neon Dragon complained as she sat at her end of the dinner table, stretching out her wings to keep them from being bunched up behind her back.  
  
"John had a bit of chest pain when he picked up his pizza pie." Vector commented.  
  
"Chest pain?" she asked, looking over to the blue echidna in question.  
  
"It's nothing. Maybe I just haven't been working out enough." John said in his defense.  
  
Neon leaned forward, completely ignoring her pizza as it was placed in front of her and said, "Get out of town, John! I've seen you working your tail off in the Hologram Training room for 6 hours straight! How could you not be worked out enough?!"  
  
John was close to exploding out of his chair, but finally calmed himself down and replied, "With Blue Fang on this world, I need to be in prime condition. She came pretty close to killing me the last time I faced her and..."  
  
Heavy, who was connected to a power recharger (which also connected him to Aptiva, FICC's computer), suddenly blurted out, "INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! UNKNOWN UNIT INSIDE FICC! CURRENT LOCATION: FIVE FEET AWAY FROM ARMORY!"  
  
"Display the intruder with a hologram." John requested.  
  
A light-blue hologram began to appear at the center of the table, showing the intruder.  
  
It was a white-furred, female Mobian with large ears, aqua-colored eyes, and leathery wings. She was dressed in a black jumpsuit with a pink heart shape over her chest, white gloves over her slightly curved claws, and white boots that had a small, pink heart over the toes.   
  
"YOW! Look at that hourglass figure! What a bat-babe!" Vector commented.  
  
"You swine." Neon commented while looking away from Vector.  
  
"A bat, eh? Aptiva, run the suspect's physical form through the rogues' gallary." John requested.  
  
"One moment..." Heavy replied, speaking for Aptiva, "Match found! Rouge the Bat. Number 2 on Mobius' Most Wanted List. Crimes: Espionage, treachery, and numerous jewel theft charges."  
  
"Jewel theft charges...oh my God!" John thought. He quickly got out of his chair and ran out of the Mess Hall!  
  
A couple minutes passed in silence...until Vector commented, "Is he gonna finish that pizza?"   
  
Rouge got inside of the Armory by bypassing the front door with a well-placed kick from her boots. She carefully looked about, expecting triggers for traps. Seeing that the coast was clear, she ran all the way to a part of the Armoy which held edged weapons.  
  
There was the main target. A dagger with a red jewel and two blue jewels at the hilt. "Just as that weird vixen told me." she thought as she approached it. She still had to be careful. John the Enforcer was certainly no fool when it came to protecting such a rare treasure. She walked up to the small pedestal where the dagger stood on it's blade.  
  
"Now, the tricky part..." Rouge muttered to herself.  
  
She pulled out a dagger that was equal to the shape and weight of the Chandral Dagger, if that was what it was called. She carefully and quickly removed the dagger from its stand and replaced it with the dummy dagger. No alarms. No traps being sprung.  
  
"Hmmm, like taking candy from a baby!" she said triumphantly.  
  
She then felt something being harshly thrusted against the back of her head, followed by a high pitched whine, and an angry, tenor voice saying, "Goo."   
  
"Not a very articulate speaker, are you?" she asked as she began to carefully slip the Chandral Dagger back into its original spot.  
  
"I prefer to shoot first and ask questions later, and I'm warning you, I'm a pretty good shot, so be a good girl and..." John threatened...only to receive two kicks: One that knocked the blaster out of his hand and the second kick that connected with his chin and sent him on his back a few feet away from the female thief.  
  
"Let's get one thing straight, blue boy; I'M NOT A GOOD GIRL!" she snapped as she took the Chandral Dagger back and placed it in a small satchel she had with her. She then took the other dagger she had and flung it at John's shoulder, which then started to release his dark green blood.  
  
Rouge then ran over John, stomping on his forehead as she did. This caused intense pain for the blue echidna...which also made him severely enraged. With a growl of pain, he removed the dagger from his shoulder. "We'll see who has the last laugh, you bitch!" John snarled as he took off in pursuit.  
  
Rouge was nearly at the entrance when John appeared right in front of her. "You pathetic lower life form. Don't you think I know the layout of my own base?!" John laughed as the wound in his shoulder healed up.  
  
"What the hell are you?" she asked as she put down the satchel that held the dagger.  
  
"I've been asking myself the same thing...and I haven't received any answers." John commented.  
  
Rouge let out an amused breath and said, " 'Asking yourself?' You're just one big psycho, aren't you?"  
  
John let out a bellow of rage, had his wrist-claws come out, and slashed at Rouge. She dodged, and fought back with a flurry of kicks. At one point, she managed to get in a slight scrape of her heel at John's chest. While it managed to cut through John's dark green tank-top and cut right at John's skin, it didn't really do any severe damage. But John felt an immediate increase of the pain he had felt earlier within his chest. This time, it was so severe, John got down on his knees and clutched his chest, releasing grunts and screams of agony!  
  
"Oh, c'mon, you big baby! I didn't hit you that hard!" she said, half-taunting John. But as John's screams became louder and louder and his mad thrashing becoming more violent, she then began to realize that she might have scored a mortal blow on John. "Hey, are you alright?" she asked.  
  
"YOU won't be!" a voice snarled...just as a hard punch sent Rouge flying away from John's suffering form and crashing into a rack of projectile weapons.  
  
"What have you done to the boss, you bat bitch?!" Vector yelled as he and the other Chaotix ran after her.  
  
But as Mighty grabbed Rouge from behind and held her in place for the other Chaotix to wale on her, Neon Dragon, who was right next to John, shouted, "Hold it, you beserkers! Don't you think your leader's health is more important than beating that thief senseless?"  
  
"Finally, the voice of reason in this insane asylum." Rouge commented as she tried to break free from Mighty's strong grip.  
  
"That doesn't mean you're out of the doghouse, you little slut! Haul her tail to the holding cells!" Vector commanded.  
  
Rouge then kicked the crocodile between the legs and yelled, "Don't you ever, EVER, call me that again, reptile!"  
  
Vector, in a tinny voice, said, "I'm fine. Just get her out of here!"  
  
Heavy and Mighty took a fiercely struggling Rouge out of the Armory. Neon, who was still kneeling down by John, watched as his eyes became bloodshot, his tongue limply hanging out of his mouth, and most of all, his chest began to glow bright enough so that she saw his heart. From what she saw, it looked as if invisible hands were tugging at the left and right of it, trying to pull it apart.  
  
"Jesus!" Neon muttered.  
  
Finally, John's thrashing came to slow halt, his body returning to its normal conditions. He looked up at Neon, with the most innocent-but-wronged look she had ever seen and, with tears streaming from his silvery-blue eyes, asked, "Neon...what's happening to me?"  
  
Meanwhile, on the distant world of Chandral...  
  
"Father, you can't take Jirrard seriously! The minute you turn your back on him, he'll run you through, just like he did to his father!" warned Adonna-Lyn, the fair princess and daughter of the Supreme Ruler of Chandral.   
  
King Aaron looked at his daughter as he boarded his fastest Kari and said, "Adon, you saw the look on his face! I don't have time to listen to idle rumors! If Prince Jirrard's city is under attack by a band of unscrupulous marauders, I have to be there, if not for him, then for the people who live in his city."  
  
Adonna-Lyn, never one to give up an arguement, defiently stated, "Father, I don't trust him!"  
  
"To be bluntly honest, my dear daughter, neither do I." he stated back as he swung his left leg onto the other side of the two-legged reptile, "But, as Supreme Ruler, every life is precious, no matter how insignificant or untrustworthy. And thus, it is our duty to protect every life. As a future ruler, you should know that."  
  
"I know, I know." she said, "But come back safely...for me?"  
  
Aaron smiled as he leaned over and kissed his daughter on the cheek and replied, "I will return in one piece, I promise you that. Take good care of our kingdom while I'm gone."  
  
So, with a shrill call, the kari rode off, through the gate and onward to Bumeria, Chandral's sole desert region. Adonna-Lyn watched her father, even as the gate closed up.  
  
"So, he's on his way, your Highness?" Neela, Adonna-Lyn's lady-in-waiting asked. The echidna princess turned to face her. Due to Neela's help in bringing down the wicked Blue Fang (she did not give Adonna-Lyn and John the Echidna away), she rose up in the ranks of the servants of the Supreme Chandral Palace. She now wore a blue, silken vest and her pants were now as translucent as Adonna-Lyn's, as a symbol of her new status. She still wore the shimmering purple veil over her face, the forest green top, the magenta hairband that grouped her dark red hair into a ponytail that went down to her hips, and the light blue, Arabian-style slippers on her feet.  
  
"Unfortunately, yes." Adonna-Lyn replied.  
  
"Your Highness, I was in the room when your father received the message from that perverted slimeball. I had a horrible feeling as I watched the message, like a dark chill running down my spine." Neela reported, "It was very unnerving."  
  
"I know what you mean." the echidna princess responded, "Then again, I get that feeling whenever I'm around that putrid, miserable excuse for royalty."  
  
As they turned and entered the Supreme Chandral Palace, Neela turned to Adonna-Lyn. She now wore a silken red vest, and with her hair now a bit longer, she had a slight braid that went from the top of her head to her shoulders. A bit of her hair came to flow over her face like a candle's flame when viewed upside-down. "Your Highness?" she asked.  
  
Adonna-Lyn turned to her, smiled, and said, "Neela, you don't always have to refer to me as 'your Highness'. Just 'Adon' will do. What is it you wish to say?"  
  
"When do you think 'he' will return to you?" she asked.  
  
Adonna-Lyn let out a sigh and said, "I don't know, Neela. Personally, I think he is trying to make Mobius safe enough so that his world doesn't have a need for him, so then, he and I can be together again. Otherwise, I don't know what the harak'tha is keeping him!"  
  
Back on Mobius...  
  
  
  
"Well, according to the med-scans, you're in perfect medical health." Heavy stated.  
  
"Bull hockey, Heavy! You heard what Neon witnessed. My heart was trying to rip itself in two! That's hardly what I'd call 'perfect medical health'!" John snapped, "We need to know what's afflicting me or otherwise, I'll never see...you-know-who again."  
  
"And who would that 'you-know-who' be, oh, fearless leader?" Neon taunted from the doorway into the Med-bay.   
  
Heavy and John looked at each other for a moment, whispered to each other in Huttese, then the robotic mechanic turned to Neon and said, "I'm afraid that's classified information."  
  
The Detrossian put her hands on her hips and asked, "Even to a fellow Chaotix?"  
  
John nodded his head as he stepped down from the x-ray and said, "In the wrong hands, that kind of information could prove disasterous."  
  
"Yeah, whatever." Neon said as she began to leave, "By the way, Spydroid #318 reported a possible blue vixen sighting."  
  
That quickly got the blue echidna's attention. "WHERE?!"  
  
"Echidnopolis city limits, south-eastern sector." Neon replied, surprised by John's reaction to her news.  
  
"That would put the crafty bitch right smack-dab in the middle of the Marble Garden Zone." John calculated as he left the Medical Bay.  
  
"Just a minute! WHERE do you think YOU'RE going?" Heavy shouted.  
  
"After Blue Fang. That's where." John replied.  
  
Heavy pursued John to the Zoom Tube and protested, "Sir, in your condition, Blue Fang will practically wipe the stone pillars of that zone with you."  
  
"I don't care. As long as I kill that witch and keep her from becoming the next big evil that hits this planet, that's all that matters." John retorted as he fished out a blaster sniper rifle.  
  
"Even if you die trying?" Heavy posed.  
  
John stopped for a moment. If he did get killed, he would never see Adonna-Lyn's fair face ever again. "Heavy, I can't leave Mobius with her on this world. It's me she's after, and she'll kill anyone if that's what it takes to get at me. She followed me to Mobius, and now, I must go on the hunt."  
  
"Well, if you're going to go out and get yourself killed, atleast wear your armor." Heavy warned.  
  
John laughed and said, "Geez, Heavy! Who programmed you? My mother?"  
  
"I thought you once said that you never knew your parents." Heavy stated.  
  
They looked at each other for a moment...before John just left for the Zoom Tube that would lead into the Marble Garden Zone, commenting, "I'll have better luck hunting Blue Fang if she doesn't catch the scent of Ditanium-Alloy. Don't have the others follow me. I don't want to put them at risk. That's an order!"  
  
Heavy put his right hand to his head as he shook it and muttered, "He's going to get killed, I just know it."  
  
"Shouldn't we follow him?" Neon asked.  
  
"No." Heavy replied.  
  
Neon then asked, "But what if he needs back-up?"  
  
"He believes that the back-up would only get in the way." Heavy explained, "Besides, this is very personal. He has to handle this on his own."  
  
"Did that help him when he fought with Rouge?" she retorted as she stomped away.  
  
"Biologicals...the workings of their minds are a nightmare to me." Heavy muttered.  
  
Charmy suddenly flew right in front of Heavy and reported, "Heavy, where's John? He must know...there's been a kidnapping!"  
  
"He's on his way to face off to Blue Fang." the robot replied.  
  
"Anyway, a politician's daughter just got echidnapped. From the looks of it, it was Sleet and Dingo, the enchantress' lackeys!" Charmy finished.  
  
"I see...I shall warn him immediately." Heavy said as he pulled a communicator out of one of his many shelf-like compartments on his body.  
  
Back on Chandral...  
  
"By Chandrala! What a horrific sight." King Aaron commented as he stepped off of his Kari and entered the Bumerian city.  
  
It was in ruins! Bodies laid strewn about the ground. Men, women, children, even infants were not spared from the massacre. His left foot then hit something. From the looks of it, it was the only marauder casualty from the slaughter.  
  
Aaron then made his way into the palace of the city. Here, the marauders were lying on the floor, more dead than the dodo. But there were also guards, servants, and...  
  
"Slaves?!" Aaron hissed. There was a dead, scantily-clad girl on the floor, a golden manacle around her neck and her wrists; a sign of her being a slave. This, the Supreme Ruler frowned upon without a second thought. Slavery was outlawed by the Council of Royals, starting with Aaron himself. And it was a severely punishable crime to even own a slave!  
  
Aaron telekinetically lifted the dead slave's body into the air. "I think Jirrard will certainly have to answer to this!" he thought to himself as he proceeded to the throne room.  
  
Suddenly, a fennec in dark robes leaped out of the darkness, his sword drawn. King Aaron turned and rammed his fist claws right into the fennec's chest. With a gasp of surprise, the marauder fell to the ground.  
  
"May our patron goddess Chandrala have mercy on your soul." King Aaron muttered as he continued on his way, retracting his fist-claws right into his skin.  
  
As he reached the throne room, he heard the sounds of blades clashing and voices yelling. He entered, and saw a battle in progress. Jirrard and four of his guards were fighting what must have been the last of the marauders.   
  
The marauder leader, a cobra, was the last to go down. He kept opening his mouth, his eyes filled with rage...but nothing came out of his mouth. Not a sound. Even after Jirrard ran him through with his scimitar did the leader not make so much as a breath of pain.  
  
Jirrard looked up at King Aaron, smiled and said, "Your Majesty. How nice of you to show up. Sadly, the battle's over. We've won against these desert scum." He then kicked the dead cobra across the face.  
  
"You look rather well, for a doomed prince, Jirrard." Aaron remarked.  
  
"I guess my father's training paid off. He taught me well in the ways of combat." Jirrard laughed as he sat down on the throne.  
  
"Your father, however, obviously neglected to teach you of our laws!" King Aaron said with a frown, telekinetically laying down the dead slave girl in front of him.  
  
"Oh, crap." Jirrard muttered.  
  
King Aaron then said, "You know we have anti-slavery laws, Jirrard, and yet, you have secretly defied those very laws. What do you have to say for yourself?"  
  
"Well....NOW!" Jirrard shouted.  
  
Suddenly, Aaron heard a whooshing sound and felt something hit him in the back of the throat. He reached and pulled out a small dart. A slimy green substance dripped from the tip. He turned towards Jirrard and started to shout, "You vile trai---***!" For some reason, he lost his voice!  
  
King Aaron then felt a draining of his strength. He couldn't even stand up! He then fell to the floor, unconcious.  
  
Jirrard looked toward the throne room doors and said, "Nice shot, Lady Screech."  
  
The sniper, a female bat, stepped out of the doorway. She had yellow eyes, tri-clawed bare feet, a stubby tail, jet-black hair, with three spikes of hair over her fair face and a braid that was tied together with a red hairband. Her leathery wings, which were attacthed to her arms, were folded back into a V-shape against her arms. She wore blood red pants, a top specially designed for her species, and a chain necklace with a small, fist-sized crystal ball. On her back was a sheath for a scimitar shaped like a bat's wing. She then grinned, revealing a pair of sharp, pointy fangs, marking her as a vampire bat.  
  
"I personally thought that was a little too easy, Prince Jirrard." she commented in a raspy voice.  
  
"Well, nonetheless, it worked." Jirrard replied with a grin, "Phase One of Operation Heartbreaker has been completed." He then kicked Aaron upside the head.  
  
"Yes. Now onto Phase Two." Screech smirked.  
  
Back on Mobius (again)...  
  
  
  
"There you are, you witch." John muttered as he creeped up on Blue Fang from behind some of the Romanesque ruins of the Marble Garden Zone. She was currently awaiting something.   
  
Then, John heard the protests of a young girl. He looked, and saw a purple-skinned echidna being roughly brought before the wicked enchantress by Sleet and Dingo.  
  
"Sir! Sir!" Heavy called on John's communicator.  
  
"What is it?!" John hissed into his communicator, "I'm a little busy at the moment!"  
  
"A daughter of an Echidnopolis politician has been kidnapped. High possibility that the vixen is behind this." Heavy reported.  
  
"Yeah, I see her right now." John commented.  
  
"Don't let this turn into a hostage situation, sir. Remember Ord Mandell?" Heavy asked.  
  
"Still trying to forget, ol' buddie. John out." John replied with a wry grin as he prepared to aim at Blue Fang's head.  
  
"What are you going to do to me?" the girl cried.  
  
Blue Fang grinned and said, "Relax. There will only be a slight bit of discomfort." Her nails on her left and right index fingers extended into long claws.  
  
John gagged. She cut off the girl's front two dreadlocks. The severed dreadlocks hit the ground like dead snakes, her blood oozing out of the cut-off stumps left on her head.  
  
"WHY?! Why are doing this to me?!" she screamed in pain.  
  
"Why? I'll tell you why!" Blue Fang snarled as she grabbed the poor girl's throat, "Because I hate your kind, because I believe that the only good echidna is a dead one, and because with your blood, I shall come one step closer to ruling both of our worlds."  
  
Then the enchantress threw the girl to the ground, shouting, "Get out of my sight!"  
  
But as the girl hesitated, Sleet pulled out his blaster, fired at her feet, and said, "You heard the lady. Beat it!" She finally got the hint and made a run for it.  
  
"So...now what?" Dingo asked.  
  
"Now, we wait for my Dark Sister to arrive." Blue Fang answered as she held the two dreadlocks in one hand, "After all, we went through a lot of trouble to bring her a little snack."  
  
John lowered his rifle. " 'Dark Sister'?" he wondered, "What the hell does she mean by that?"  
  
The knock-down blow to the back of his head quickly answered that question...  
  
  
  
He awoke to find himself in the shaft of an elevator going downward, through miles of dirt and rock. "I'm...I'm in a Zoom Tube...how did I get here?" John wondered.   
  
He felt a slight bit of pain in the back of his head, which was pretty odd, since his own healing powers would have cleared that right up. He sat up for a moment, felt a growing ache in his chest and put his hand over the area where his heart was. He stopped. A part of his dark green tank top was unusually wet. When he pulled his hand away, his hands were stained with a red, metallic-smelling liquid.  
  
"Blood!" John gasped, "And it's not mine!"  
  
Once the Zoom Tube reached its destination, John quickly ran to his quarters, passing by Mighty and Neon along the way. "I wonder what his hurry's all about." Mighty said to the Detrossian.  
  
Neon noticed the trail of blood from John and said, "I'm not 100% sure, but gather the others into the Mess Hall and tell them it's urgent."  
  
Neon wasn't the only one who saw the blood. Heavy and Bomb were busy repairing a damaged conduit when John ran right past them. Heavy looked at the trail of red blood, then stated, "Bomb, keep at this until you seal it off and keep it from being exposed again. I have to check on John."  
  
"Pingping, ping!" Bomb replied in acknowledgement.  
  
Heavy finally caught up with John. He was busy washing his hands of the blood on his fingers.  
  
"Sir?" Heavy started...just as John quickly wheeled around, activated his own lightsaber so that only one of the two blades came out, and in a frantic voice, muttered, "Just stay away from me!"  
  
"Sir?! What on Mobius has gotten into you?! It is I, Heavy! I'm not your enemy!" the robot warned.  
  
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" John shouted. He nearly brought the blade just inches from Heavy's head.  
  
"Sir, do not pursuade me use force!" Heavy warned.  
  
John swung again. This time, he hit the circuits for the lights.  
  
"That does it, sir. Don't say I didn't warn you..." Heavy said as he made an astounding leap above John, pulled out a vibrohammer, then brought it down on his head, shouting, "SIR, CALM DOWN!  
  
Upon impact, John was out like a light.  
  
Heavy looked at the blood on his shirt. It certainly wasn't his. Even more-so, it was "painted" on him. From Heavy's observations, it looked like arcane symbols.  
  
"By my maker (and God willing, I don't like thinking about my maker, the vile, and deceased, Robotnik)! What has that enchantress done to you, sir?" Heavy muttered.  
  
John immediately sat up. "Sir, are you alright?" Heavy asked.  
  
"Yeah. Thanks, Heavy. I was really outta control there for a moment. Thanks for knocking some sense into me." John said as he got to his feet.  
  
"Glad to always be of service, sir. Sir, what happened up there? Before you actually got close enough to target Blue Fang and her associates, the screens went into utter static." Heavy reported.  
  
John sniffed and said, "More of that witch's magic, no doubt."  
  
Heavy then did a robot's version of swelling up with pride then said, "Well, you'll get her next time, and then it's back to Chandral and Adonna-Lyn."  
  
John slowly turned to Heavy and asked, "Who?"  
  
"Oh, quit playing games, sir. You remember!" Heavy laughed, thinking John was kidding around.  
  
"Remember what?! What's wrong with you?!" John asked, sounding very serious.  
  
Heavy just couldn't believe what his auditory sensors were picking up. "How could you forget her? When we were back on Chandral, she was the only thing you talked about!" Heavy stated.  
  
"Who?! Heavy, stop this nonsense! I have no idea who the hell you're talking about!" John snapped.  
  
"Then...forget what I said, sir. I was...just kidding around." Heavy glumly replied.  
  
"Don't do that again or next time, I'll be forced to have you disassembled and have your logic circuits examined." John warned, pointing his left index finger at Heavy as he left, clutching his chest as he did.  
  
Heavy turned away, muttering, "This is getting out of hand. John has forgotten the fair Adonna-Lyn?! This can't be! It looks like I'm going to have to send for some help...of the Jedi kind."  
  
Back on Chandral (again)...  
  
Adonna-Lyn faced the dummy, a whirling pedestal of thick, hard sticks. She had faced it many times before, for combat training, and and she was more than ready to face it again.   
  
She, like her friend Neela, had a horrible, gut-wrenching feeling of dread and now, more than anything, she needed to shake it off.  
  
She then approached it and, in a flurry of fists and feet, went on the attack. The idea was to avoid getting hit by the sticks that protruded from the central pedestal.  
  
As she beat into the dummy, doing her best to avoid being hit, her mind was racing as fast as her fists. Events were accelarating to a rate she could just barely keep up with. The bloated terrorist on John's world was finally dead, Blue Fang had begun to make her evil prescence known...and now, her father had failed to return as soon as she'd expect it.  
  
"Your Highness!" a female voice called.  
  
Adonna-Lyn turned to look...and got her right knuckles bruised as one of the sticks whacked her! She recoiled for a moment, clutching her injured hand...then turned to face the dummy angrily, summoned her mental strength, and took out the dummy with a psychic blast from her left hand. It spun for a couple of moments like a top, then collapsed on the floor.  
  
She turned and saw Shandray, the captain of her father's guards.  
  
"Yes, Shandray? What is it?" Adonna-Lyn asked as the bruise on her knuckles healed up.  
  
"A caravan is approaching the main gates, your Highness. The Bumerian flag waves over it." the black cat answered.  
  
Adonna-Lyn sniffed contemptuously and snapped, "Hmph! Prince Jirrard, no doubt! Send him away."  
  
"He claims that your father is with him...and from the looks of it, your Highness, it doesn't look good." the female captain continued.  
  
The echidna princess's heart nearly stopped. Her father meant everything to her and to hear Shandray's report...it went through her like a knife. "I'll...I'll deal with this myself, but have the guards ready. This could be trick."  
  
"As you wish, my princess." Shandray said with a bow and her right fist over her chest. As Adonna-Lyn left the room, Shandray looked at the destroyed dummy, shook her illustrious red-haired head and muttered, "We lose more dummies that way."  
  
Adonna-Lyn stood by the opening gates as Jirrard, her ailing father, and several of the desert prince's guards came through. She ran to the black canopic "carrier" where her father was on his back, breathing weak breaths of air. The echidna princess was half-torn between crying, and grabbing Shandray's weapon and ramming it through Jirrard.  
  
"Get him to his bedroom!" Adonna-Lyn ordered of the prince's guards. They looked at her as if she was a begger that was annoying them to no end. "Don't look at me like that! Do as I say and get my father to his room." she ordered again.   
  
"They answer only to me, your Highness." Prince Jirrard said with a smirk.  
  
She angrily glared at Jirrard then ran towards him, saying, "You...what have you done to my father?!"  
  
Two guards, a Scorpian and Coyote, immediately seized Adonna-Lyn before she even got close enough to extend her wrist claws and stab the grinning desert prince in the heart...that is, to say, if he had one.  
  
"Not so fast, your Highness." Jirrard said as he waved a finger at her, "All I did was bring your ailing father back to his home. He has contracted a very rare Chandral disease. He is unable to speak either vocally or telepathically. The disease has severely crippled him. Before he became totally silent, he told me it was in his best interests to die within his home, just as his fathers before him did. And I have brought him home, according to his wishes."  
  
"Good. You've done what my father wanted. Now leave the premises!" Adonna-Lyn ordered.  
  
"I'm afraid I'll be staying, oh, love of my life. King Aaron also needed someone to rule in his place. And since the law states that a male must rule as Supreme Ruler...well, here I am." Jirrard crooned, looking absolutely ridiculous in the process.  
  
Adonna-Lyn finally got her arms free from the guards, went up to Jirrard, and had one of her left wrist-claws come out and had it come dangerously close to an artery in the prince's chin. "I don't know what your scheme is, Jirrard, but I know you're up to something. And when I do find out, I'll make you wish you were never born!" she threatened.  
  
With that, she turned and stomped away from the prince and his guards.  
  
The scorpian, named Jaratay, went up to Jirrard and asked, "Why do you let that brat get away with such insolence, sire?"  
  
"That's for me to know, and for you to find out. Post the guards at every point where Adonna-Lyn could possibley attempt to escape the palace. She doesn't get out, and nothing gets in. Understood?" Jirrard commanded.  
  
Jaratay bowed and replied, "Yes, your Highness."  
  
"Yes, what?!" Jirrard growled, implying somthing.  
  
"I mean, yes, your Majesty." the scorpion corrected himself.  
  
Jirrard turned to the rest of his guards and said, "And the rest of you had better not forget that. I'm the new ruler here. Now, take King Aaron to his bedroom."  
  
The four guards that were closest to the small carrier where the true ruler resided, bowed and obeyed.  
  
As the echidna princess angrily ran for her bedroom, furious with what Jirrard had said, she nearly ran into Neela, who had her pet Pikachu on her shoulder. During the Enforcer's visit to their world, she received the Electric-Type Pokemon during a faked magic show put on by the bounty hunter, who was in disguise and aiding Adonna-Lyn in taking down the enchantress Blue Fang.  
  
"What is wrong, your Highness?" she asked of her. Instead of answering, the green-skinned monarch just ran into her bedroom and slammed the door shut.  
  
"Oh, dear. I don't like the looks of this, Zapma. I really don't." Neela said to the small rodent-like Pokemon.  
  
"Pi-kaaaa." it squeeked, as if to agree with Neela's statement.  
  
Back on Mobius (yet again...patience, gentle readers. This is going somewhere)...  
  
Dave the Hedgehog, better known to his friends as the Gold Jedi, took up his defensive stance and ignited his golden-bladed lightsaber. His opponent was nearly as skilled as he was, and he needed to be prepared.  
  
His opponent stood across from him by about ten feet. He was a bit shorter and younger than Dave, but the yellow hedgehog knew better than to rely on appearances, for the young, green, Vampire Bat across from him was being taught in the Jedi arts, and he needed to know his limits.  
  
"Ready, Kenny?" Dave called over to the young bat.  
  
Kenny smiled, revealing the telltale fangs of his species, and replied, "Ready when you are!"  
  
"Very well.......BEGIN!" Dave announced.  
  
Immediately, Kenny brought out two, green-glowing lightsabers and ran at Dave. The yellow hedgehog charged as well and their blades clashed with each other with wild arches of energy.  
  
They stepped away for a moment, and their duel began to proceed.  
  
Dave was amazed by how much Kenny was adapting to the usage of the Jedi weapons that the youngster had built himself. He had grown in speed, strength, agility, and stamina. Kenny was shaping up to be a better Jedi Knight than Dave had anticipated.   
  
Still, Dave harbored his doubts. Throughout the young bat's life, he had sensed that Kenny had a great anger within him. While Kenny was strong with the Force, the bat was angered recently to find that his parents were murdered by the Dark Legion, a group of Echidnas who used technology to dire ends. That very anger Dave sensed as he and Kenny went against John for the first time. Somehow, Kenny sensed something about the blue echidna, and whatever it was, it dangerously brought Kenny only inches from falling to the dark side of the Force. And this, Dave severely wanted to save his Padawan learner from.  
  
Dave fought Kenny until the bat did something he least suspected. The young bat ran up a tree with almost blinding, Jedi speed, then did a flip, landed behind his Jedi teacher, and used a Force "push" to launch Dave into the tree he ran up.  
  
"How was that?" Kenny asked.  
  
"Good. Very good." Dave said as he recovered, "You adapted to using your lightsabers, planned a unique strategy that not even the Force could have helped me predict. You're becoming a better Jedi knight than even I thought you would be."  
  
Suddenly, Dave heard a rapid beeping at his wrist. It was his wrist communicator, and a message was awaiting him.  
  
He switched it on. It was dark on the screen, but he made out what looked like green-glowing eyes staring right back at him.  
  
"Have I reached Dave the Gold Jedi?" the figure on the screen asked in a deep, nearly mechanical sounding voice.  
  
"Yes. I am he. And you are?" he replied, curious as to who the mysterious figure was.  
  
"I'm not at liberty to say. I can only tell you to come alone to the Floating Island, where we'll meet on the eastern edge. Bring only your lightsaber. My master is gravely ill and it is something that no doctors or medicine can cure. And, bewteen you and me, let us keep this message a secret." the figure explained.  
  
Suddenly, the lights in the room the figure was in turned on, revealing Heavy in front of the screen. A "pinging" sound was heard in the back, which came close to sounding like a mother scolding her child.  
  
"Blast you, Bomb! Can't you see I'm busy?!" the Chief Mechanix drone shouted at his smaller partner.  
  
The sound of Bomb muttering until he could no longer be heard signaled the explosive robot's departure.  
  
"Sorry about that. I assure you, sir, that what I have said about my master, John the Enforcer, is true. And I'm a bit worried, if not for his health, then for the others who live on the island. Heavy, out." Heavy said as he then switched off the communication.  
  
"So...ya gonnna do this?" Kenny asked.  
  
"Heavy said it himself. It's not only for John's health, but for everyone who lives on the Floating Island. A Jedi Knight's duty is to serve the common good. You, on the other hand, must continue your training. I have some Seeker Balls for you to duel with. Remember, more than anything, concentrate on the moment." Dave said as he took out a couple of small, grey, metallic orbs and activated them. The small Seeker Balls took to the air, hovering like insane wasps and fired small red bolts at Kenny, which he quickly blocked with his lightsaber blades as the energy bolts were fired.  
  
With that, Dave left his Padawan to deal with the seeker balls...just as he heard the sickening sound of lightsaber blades going through metal. He turned and saw the two seeker balls, each one cut into two clean halves.  
  
"Kenny! You're supposed to practice with them, not destroy them!" Dave scolded, "Don't you know how expensive these things are?"  
  
"Sorry. I couldn't resist." Kenny replied with a sly smile.  
  
Dave pulled out five Seeker balls from a compartment in a hollowed out tree and said, "Well, just for that, you're gonna have five of these to fight off."  
  
"Awe, crud!" Kenny gulped as he tried to fend off against the five laser-pelting objects.  
  
Heavy plodded down a hallway, leading to his recharging station...just as Neon Dragon and John were heading to the Zoom Tubes Bay.  
  
"Sir, what on Mobius do you think you're doing?" Heavy asked.  
  
"I need some time out of the base to think, Heav-ster. I just can't think straight in these claustrophobic conditions. And don't worry. Neon's coming along with me, just in case Blue Fang and her goons try and take advantage of my current situation." John replied.  
  
Heavy considered it. Neon was a formidable fighter, but against the likes of Blue Fang and her henchmen, she might have some trouble, as she had never gone up against the likes of them since the incident with Chaos.  
  
"Very well. On your way, then." Heavy replied.  
  
As the echidna and dragon left, the Chief Mechanix Drone plugged himself into his recharging station and felt the energy flow through his circuits...  
  
  
  
"Is THIS yours?!" a pink female cat, named Sakura, yelled at a golden retriever who was seated at the Echidnopolis Mall Food Court with a blue Mobian fox and a yellow Chao. Sakura was holding up by the tail a long, ferret-like creature with bands of brown and light brown fur, blue eyes, and several blue markings on his face. The creature was a Pokemon, commonly known as a Furret, but the golden retriever, better known as NoOman Dog, preferred to call it by its Japanese specie name, Ootachi.   
  
The Ootachi, named, Tachiguy, looked up to see NoOman, grinned, and said (in plain english), "Hey, chief. She followed me home. Can I keep her?"  
  
"No, you may not! Miss, I'm very sorry about this. He's..." NoOman began to say...just as a hard slap across the face sent him to the floor.  
  
"If you are it's trainer, you'll be more responsible and teach it better manners, because if I ever catch this little monster near me again, I'll have you arrested for harassment!" Sakura snapped before turning and walking away.  
  
NoOman glared at Tachiguy and whispered, "I hope you realize that slap should have been intended for you! What did you do to her?!"  
  
"Ah, something you'd never work up the guts to do if you were me. Ooh! Fries!" the impish Ootachi said as he reached for the golden retriever's bucket o' fries...only to have NoOman place his hand over the top of it. "Hey! What gives?" he shouted.  
  
"Answer me, Tach. What did you do to her?" NoOman asked coldly.  
  
"Oh...I went to up to her and used a marker to write our home phone-number on her right bra strap, OKAY?! Now gimme some fries. I'm starving!" he whined.  
  
"Tach, what am I going to do with you?! It's a wonder we haven't been arrested already!" NoOman scolded.  
  
"Well, we haven't, okay? C'mon! Gimme some of those delicious bits of potato guts!" Tachiguy said as he surged forward and pulled the fries bucket out of NoOman's hand with his dexterous paws. But when Tachiguy looked in the bucket, it was empty.  
  
"Hey! What the hell?!" Tachiguy began to complain, just as he heard a sickening belch. He looked and saw ChowChow, NoOman's yellow, razor-toothed chao rubbing his small belly and licking his chops. The little guy was a regular walking garbage disposal, as he then crawled up on to the table via NoOman's legs, went over to the spot where the Ootachi was, seized the fry bucket, and devoured it!  
  
"Oye, I should have known." Tachiguy glumly muttered as he put his face down on the table, much to the amusement of Scribbles Moonshadow, the 13-year-old blue Mobian fox who had accompanied NoOman and his friends.  
  
"So, what are we going to do to help your other friends?" she asked of NoOMan. The other friends she was referring to was Shaman Tuatara and Globbycat, both good friends and drinking buddies of NoOman. Sadly, they were both being held by the Echidnopolis Security Team (EST for short), "for questioning". Namely for questioning over NoOman's disappearance from the offices of the EST. That was considered as desertion, which also was considered a rather punishable crime by EST terms. And with a bounty placed on NoOman's head, they had to remain inconspicuous.  
  
"I don't know. I don't have enough in my account to pay for their bail. And I really don't think turning myself in will benefit me or my comrades." he replied.  
  
"Yeah. Chances are, ChowChow and I would be confiscated and given to a guy who'd take less care of us than you do." Tachiguy commented as NoO shared a sip of his lemonade.  
  
"What about that echidna guy we ran into in the woods, the one who faced off to Sebastian the Pantheroo? He could help you, if you just ask." she offered.  
  
"Ask an echidna for help. There's something at the bottom of NoO's To-Do list." Tachiguy joked.  
  
NoOman had to agree with Tach there. After having a grueling, under-paying job with the EST and receiving more prejudice from the dreadlocked monotremes than he could stand, echidnas were the last guys he would turn to for help.  
  
"Well, even if he could help us, we don't know where this guy lives." NoOman said with a sigh.  
  
Tachiguy's ears perked up a bit as he noticed something and said, "Well, atleast we know where he eats. Shift your eyes to six o'clock, lady and gentlemen."  
  
They looked and sure enough, there was the blue echidna who had defeated Sebastian and sent the psychotic pantheroo off of the Floating Island, sittin down at a table, eating some fries and such with a dragon-like humanoid seated across from him.  
  
"And that's pretty much all I know, Neon. Anything before the age of eight is a total blur." John finished telling the Detrossian Dragon in front of him.  
  
"You know, John, I do have some connections. They might not be much, but maybe, just maybe, I could help you learn about your past." she offered.  
  
" 'They?' " John asked, raising one eyebrow.  
  
"The Spies Guild. I could ask them a few things...but..." Neon started say.  
  
"But what?" John questioned.  
  
Neon let out a sigh and replied, "Sadly, information, like what you're asking for, doesn't come cheap. The guys in the guild charge an unbelieveabley high price for what they spy for."  
  
John then said, "Neon, I'm desparate to find out anything about my past. If it's more money you're asking for, I'll quadrouple your pay."  
  
Neon was taken by surprise. John was normally paying her one hundred mobiums a day for her services...but shifting up to four hundred?!  
  
"Well...I..." she stammered.  
  
"Alright then. Five hundred a day." John offered.  
  
"No. Three hundred will do." she said, not wanting to overcharge her protectee.  
  
John smiled, shook her hand and said, "Done."  
  
Then, it happened.  
  
As John got his hand back from the handshake, it quickly went over his heart. His grunts of pain immediately gave way to a horrible, window-shattering scream of agony! He fell out of his chair and clutched his chest, rolling about in utter pain.  
  
"Neon...help me!" John said through his grunts of pain.  
  
  
  
NoOman started to get up from the table he and his friends were occupying.  
  
"NoO, what're ya doing?" Tachiguy asked.  
  
"What does it look like? I'm going to help that poor guy!" NoOman answered as he walked over to the suffering echidna.  
  
"NoOman, are you crazy?!" Tachiguy hissed, "EST guys are comin' and it looks like they're on the red-eye express!"  
  
"I don't care. This echidna helped us. I'm going to return the favor." NoOman shouted back.  
  
But as NoOman approached, he let out a slight grunt of pain, as his empathy made him feel the pain John was in. That quickly alerted Neon Dragon to his presence. She turned to face him, holding a fireball in her right hand. "Who the devil are you?" she hissed at NoOMan.  
  
"It's okay! It's okay! I'm a friend." he said, holding up his hands in front of his chest.  
  
Neon gave him a slight look, then let the fireball in her hand fizzle out and said, "Okay. I trust you...for now. But if you pull anything funny, you're going to be a new taste sensation: Hot Golden Retriever. Got it?"  
  
"Loud and clear. Now what's going on?" he asked.  
  
Neon let out a slight breath of desparation and said, "I wish I knew. He's been having these weird heart attacks as of late, and..."  
  
"FREEZE! Don't move so much as a muscle, or you're going to receive some cranial ventilation!" Jackson, a junior echidna officer of the EST, shouted. As it turned out, he was with five other officers.  
  
"Oh no! Not Jackson!" NoOman muttered.  
  
"You know this bozo?" she asked.  
  
NoOman replied, "From my old, paperwork-dealing, underpaying job in their department. All of us canine types are under pressure from them because of the fuss the Dingoes have been causing. Jackson there's been one of the hardest people to be around..."  
  
"SHUT UP, YOU!" Jackson ordered, "I'm hauling your lousy tails in for property damage..."  
  
"Hey, stupid! NoOman doesn't even have a tail!" Tachiguy snapped.  
  
"TACH!" NoOman said with his teeth clenched. True, NoOMan didn't have a tail, but now, the EST had found their deserter!  
  
"Oops. Sorry." NoOman's Ootachi friend gulped.  
  
"NoOman, eh?" Jackson sneered, "Well, well, well. Looks like I'll be getting a bonus in my pay...namely, for arresting your fithy ass, dog boy!"  
  
"Not today." John hissed, his eyes beginning to glow.  
  
Suddenly, the EST officers' guns exploded into flames!  
  
Jackson cried, "What the hell's going on?"...just before he felt himself being lifted a few feet into the air and tossed onto a frier!  
  
The other officers looked about in consternation, wondering what the heck it their junior officer...just as a bolt of electricity from John sent them to the ground.  
  
John's eyes ceased to glow. The pain overwhelmed him to the point where he couldn't retain his conciousness.   
  
NoO looked, and saw that the oncoming EST officers were beginning to recover. "Um...I don't know about you, but running would be a good idea."  
  
Neon began to slump John over her right shoulder, as easily as she could lay an empty sack on it, and said, "Not without my employer, we're not."  
  
"Tach! ChowChow! Let's get out of here!" NoOman shouted to his comrades.  
  
ChowChow immediately responded...while hopping from table to table and devouring the other food court patrons' food. Tachiguy merely shrugged and said, "Ah, you go on ahead. I'll catch up."  
  
"Tach, c'mon! Or..." NoOman said coldly, while pulling out a round, red-and-white object from his belt.  
  
The Ootachi's eyes bulged when he saw the object in NoO's hand and ran towards his "owner", crying, "Okay! Okay, I'm coming! Just don't put me in that damn Pokeball!"  
  
As they began to run out of the Echidnopolis Mall, NoO remembered something...rather, someone. He turned and saw Scribblez tripping up the EST officers, making it look like she was doing so unintentionally. His empathy told him that she was doing so to help them escape...just as he felt her pain as they shoved her to the ground and slapped handcuffs around her wrists.  
  
"Go, NoO! Don't let my attempt to keep them off your back die in vain." she told him through his empathy. NoO was torn. Even though he and the young fox had only just met, she already felt like she was the little sister he never had.  
  
He left, muttering, "Sorry, Scribblez."  
  
They nearly made it to the city limits before Neon stopped for a moment. She looked down an alley, grinned, and said, "Follow me!"  
  
Tachiguy saw which way she meant, frowned and said, "Are you daft or something? That's just a dead-end!"  
  
Neon Dragon smiled and pulled down a fire-exit ladder, which then retracted and caused a bizzare-looking elevator to come out of the filthy alleyway.  
  
"....Oh. Never mind!" Tachiguy muttered.  
  
Neon grinned. That shut the little poop up.  
  
They quickly piled into the elevator and went down a straight two miles below the surface of the Floating Island...just as Jackson, with his butt severely burned, entered the alley...a plain, ordinary, empty alleyway.   
  
"DAMN IT ALL!" he cursed, seeing as his plans for promotion had once again slipped through his fingers.  
  
Back on Chandral(Don't worry. I am going somewhere with this)....  
  
Evening. Adonna-Lyn hurried to a small grave outside of the palace. She knew of this particular grave because it was directly beneath the balcony to her father's bedroom. The rectangular tombstone at the head of the grave had six jewels embedded into it, like a circular rainbow. On one part of it, it read, "Rest In Peace, Queen Zara-Lyn. May you embrace peace that your mortal frame could not find."  
  
Adonna-Lyn checked to make sure no one was around, then knelt down before the grave. "Oh, Chandrala, Great Guardian spirit of the world you blessed with life...I, Princess Adonna-Lyn of the Supreme Royal Family, wish to commune with the spirit of my mother, the benevolent and wise Queen Zara-Lyn." she prayed. She personally hoped that Chandrala was in a cooperative mood.   
  
Then, the jewels on the tombstone began to glow. Materializing in front of the echidna princess was her mother.  
  
In her living days, Zara-Lyn was a sight to behold. She was a yellow-skinned echidna with flowing red hair and dreadlocks, and eyes as pure blue as the sky above. Her spirit appeared in a light blue, haze-like form, dressed in her royal robes, the same that she wore during her time while Adonna-Lyn was still a hatchling. Her serene smile nearly made Adonna-Lyn cry, that is, if it weren't for the fact that she needed to consult her mother for guidance.  
  
"Hello, my dear, dear daughter. I was hoping you would visit me sometime soon. So, what is on your mind?" she asked, her voice sounding like someone trying to whisper into someone else's ear on a lonely, wave-whipped beach.  
  
"Oh, mother, I need your advice. Prince Jirrard has taken control of the palace and already he's making himself an unwanted pest. Just last night, he had the audacity to enter the bathing chambers...right while I was getting out of the bath!" Adonna-Lyn explained.  
  
"I see." Queen Zara-Lyn said, acknowledging the problem.  
  
Her daughter shook her head and said, "I just don't know what to do anymore, mother. I can't leave this world and go to Mobius without fear of what Jirrard will do to Father. But then, I'm worried about John the Echidna, my betrothed...and my beloved. It has been more than a year since I've last seen him. I have a terrible feeling that something's happened to him."  
  
"I'm sorry to report this, my daughter, but your insight serves you well." Zara-Lyn said, her voice dropped to a saddened tone, "The one called John is suffering from a pain that only we Chandralites are familiar with."  
  
"Oh no." Adonna-Lyn gasped, realizing what her mother meant.  
  
Zara-Lyn looked at her daughter and said, "You didn't warn him?"  
  
"No, I didn't." the echidna princess moaned, "I've doomed him. Mother, what shall I do?"  
  
"There isn't much you can do, dearest. I sense that an outside, malevolent force has neutralized your powers." Zara-Lyn reported.  
  
Adonna-Lyn, upon hearing that, tried to fire a psychic burst upward...only to find that she was unable. She tried again, only to yield the same result. Almost going to tears, she asked, "What other options do I have?"  
  
"Take heart, child. An emissary from John's world shall come to Chandral, and his mind will be set on bringing you and your true love together. The best I can recommend is that you hold out a bit longer." the queen's spirit advised.  
  
"Thank you, Mother. I shall do as you advise me to do." the echidna princess said, a bit enlightened from her mother's news.  
  
"I love you, Adonna-Lyn. Farewell, until next you seek my wisdom." Zara-Lyn said while holding her daughter's right cheek in her left hand, "Now go. Jirrard and his guards will be looking for you. Even though I'm no longer among the living, I cannot even dare to think what that miscreant will do to you."  
  
"Don't worry about me so much. I can take care of myself, mother." Adonna-Lyn replied, getting up off the ground. To her, her mother's touch felt like a warm, morning breeze. Then, the ghostly image of her mother faded away, as did the glow of the rainbow-like jewels on the tombstone.  
  
But as Adonna-Lyn turned to leave, she came face-to-face with Prince Jirrard and several of his guards. Before she could make a move, two of Jirrard's men grabbed her from behind and forced her to bow down before the vile echidna prince.   
  
"And what, pray tell, are YOU doing outside of the palace walls? Don't you know that leaving the protection of the palace could be very dangerous for you?" Jirrard mockingly asked.  
  
"Being outside of the palace feels a lot safer than being inside with you!" Adonna-Lyn hissed as she tried to get back up.  
  
"So, you are betrothed to this...John, aren't you?" Jirrard said as he brought his own scimitar under the echidna princess' chin.  
  
Adonna-Lyn telekinetically forced the blade away from her chin and snapped, "That's none of your business!"  
  
"Well, I managed to pay a slight visit to Mobius recently. From the looks of things, it looks like you're betrothed, alright...to me! Your other lover is no longer amongst the living." Jirrard said.  
  
"No." Adonna-Lyn gasped, turning away from him.  
  
Jirrard came up to Adonna-Lyn and asked, "Besides, what could you possibley see in some petty commoner? Low-born trash like him are not fit for a princess!"  
  
For that snide comment, Jirrard received a quick whiplash from one of Adonna-Lyn's dreadlocks. She glared at him defiently and said, "Whom I love is no concern of yours. Get this through that thick skull of yours, you sadistic toad: I will never like you, I will never love you, and I will never, ever marry you!"  
  
Jirrard rubbed the spot where Adonna-Lyn hit him and growled, "I think you'll find that was very ill-advised, your Highness. Guards! Take the princess to her quarters!"  
  
Adonna-Lyn managed to wrench herself free of their grip and contemptuously sniffed, "I know the way to my bedroom. Horrid evening, gentlemen!" With that, she angrily ran away from them.  
  
Jaratay went up to his master and snarled, "Again, she defies you, my prince. How can you let her get away with it? Just say the word and I'll..."  
  
"What you and the others should do is lock the doors and surround every part of the palace...and this time, make sure she stays in her quarters! No one gets in except me and the squirrel known as Neela." Jirrard commanded.  
  
"Adonna-Lyn's lady-in-waiting? Is that wise, my prince?" a coyote guard asked.  
  
Jirrard turned and obliterated the guard with a powerful blast from his hand. He turned to the other guards and asked, "Anyone else care to question my orders?"  
  
No answer.  
  
"Good. Now carry my orders out!" Jirrard ordered. As the guards scattered, he glared upward at the balcony outside Adonna-Lyn's bedroom and snarled, "You will be mine, your Highness. Make no mistake of that!"  
  
Floating Island Central Command...  
  
"Okay, Heavy. It's your shot." Vector challenged from across the pool table. Of course, by technological standards, the pool table, the sticks, the pool balls and the entire parlour wasn't real...just a big holographic image, courtesy of John the Echidna's know-how. But it was real enough for the Chaotix, and that was good enough.  
  
Heavy cued up his stick.  
  
Vector then looked away from the pool table for a moment and began a ridiculous "I-know-more-about-this-than-you" speech: "Pool's a man's game, Heav-ster. It requires precise targetting, skill, calculation, and charm. So being a 'bot, you'll be at a disadvan-"  
  
"I win." Heavy stated.  
  
"WHAAAAA?!" Vector cried. He turned, and saw every ball (minus the cue ball, of course) off of the pool table. He saw Heavy make an L-shape with this thumb and index manipulator. Loser.  
  
The Master of Smooth Moves let out a snort of air and, while tossing his stick aside, muttered, "Ah, pool's a dumb game, anyway."  
  
"OW!" came a sharp cry from where Vector tossed his stick aside.  
  
"Oh, sorry, Espy. Didn't see ya there." Vector said with a cheesy grin.  
  
"Very funny, croc!" Espio snarled as he gripped the stick firmly in his hand and appeared in his usual ochre scale color, "How would you like this smacking into your face? And this time, it won't be an accident!"  
  
"I'd just like to see you try, horn-head!" Vector challenged as he got ahold of another stick. There was definitely going to be another fight.  
  
Suddenly, a golden blade of light came between them. They looked and saw Dave the Hedgehog, holding his gold-bladed lightsaber in his left hand.  
  
"Looks like I got here just in time." Dave said, "Does this always happen when John's not around?"  
  
Vector put his stick down on the rack and said, "Only when Espio doesn't watch where he's supposed to be and does that cloaking...thing he does."  
  
Mighty, who was playing a game of cards with Charmy and Bomb, then asked, "Hey, guys! Where's John? He should have been back from lunch by now."  
  
"Attention! Incoming Zoom Tube capsule. Emergency Frequency Level 1." Aptiva announced.  
  
Upon hearing that, the Chaotix began to pile out of the Hologram Training Room, #1, and ran for the Zoom Tube Bay.  
  
"Now this is nice!" Tachiguy said as he, ChowChow, NoOman, Neon Dragon, and an unconcious John the Echidna left the Zoom Tube elevator.  
  
NoOman quickly warned, "Watch it, Tach. If John's as cagey in his own base as he is in that armor of his, there's going to be some kind of high-tech security devices around here."  
  
Just as NoO said this, three laser turrets came up in front of Tachiguy as Aptiva announced, "Warning! Unknown entities inside FICC! Preparing Level 1 Security measures..."  
  
"Aptiva, STAND DOWN!" Neon ordered.  
  
Immediately, the turrets went back into the armor plating in the walls. Tachiguy just looked stunned.  
  
The Chaotix ran into the bay. They saw their boss in such a horrid condition and just...stood there in awe.  
  
"Well, what are you just standing around for?! Get him to the Med Bay!" Neon ordered.  
  
But as Vector and Mighty rushed forward, Espio stopped them and said, "Hold it just a damn minute! Who put you in charge, dragon girl?"  
  
"As John's bodyguard, and as the person that helped bring him back to FICC, I'm assuming full responsibility for John while he's unable to make commands." Neon stated while charging up a fireball in her left hand, "You have a problem with that, then I'll just cram this up your scaly ass!"  
  
Dave immediately got between them and said, "That's enough! Right now, John is suffering and all you can do is argue! Shouldn't you be attending to his condition?"  
  
With that, Neon and Espio glared at each other. Vector and Mighty grabbed ahold of John and began to haul him to the Med Bay.  
  
Tachiguy turned to Dave and asked, "So...what's your story, thorn-butt?"  
  
"I think I'll answer that question." Heavy replied, "I called for him because his abilities might come into handy."  
  
"What abilities? He looks like an average hedgehog to me...hey, cool coin-holder! Mind if I take a look?" Tachiguy asked as he seized the handle for Dave's lightsaber.  
  
"No, don't touch that!" Dave warned.  
  
But Dave's warning came too little too late. The Ootachi activated the golden blade and began to swing it around while struggling for balance.  
  
But as this occured, Dave reached out with one hand. The lightsaber deactivated, flew out of Tachiguy's paws and right into Dave's outstretched hand.  
  
"Don't do that again." Dave said while pointing a scolding finger at the Pokemon. In reply, Tachiguy just fainted.  
  
"Heavy, what am I required to do?" Dave asked.  
  
"I have a hypothesis of what is ailing John. To better find out what it is, I need someone who is strong in mind to delve into his mind and find out if there is a possible cure for our suffering leader." the Chief Mechanix drone replied.  
  
"Hence, why a Jedi knight is brought in." NoOman surmised.  
  
"Exactly." Heavy replied.  
  
Dave, a bit skeptical, asked, "You mean to tell me that you don't even know what's afflicting John medically?"  
  
"How should I know?! Damn it, Dave, I'm a mechanic, not a doctor!" Heavy shouted.  
  
The robot then calmed down and said "But first, the Chaotix must stabilize John's condition or otherwise, he might not live to receive the aid he requires...and I need to set up something that might facilitate the search for John's salvation. Excuse me." With that, Heavy wandered away.  
  
Dave looked over to the Golden Retriever and said, "You're an empath, aren't you?  
  
"How do you know?" NoOman asked.  
  
"The Force told me. After all, the Force surrounds us...binds us...holds the universe in balance." Dave explained.  
  
"Okay...he's just as looney as you are, NoO!" Tachiguy whispered.  
  
"Tach! Do you mind?! We happen to be in the prescense of a Jedi Knight." NoOman cautioned.  
  
"Jedi MASTER, actually." Dave corrected, "In fact, I was the only Jedi Master to be given the Golden Blade Lightsaber, a very rare honor."  
  
"Really?" NoOman asked, "That's pretty cool."  
  
"Oh, yes. Very exciting." Tachiguy muttered, "Let's see what kind of cool crap this guy's got around this place!" With that, the Ootachi scurried away.  
  
Dave looked at NoOman and said, "Forgive me. I don't believe we have introduced ourselves properly. I am Dave the Hedgehog, Jedi and Pokemon Master."  
  
NoOman shook the Gold Jedi's hand and replied, "I'm NoOman Dog, Pokemon and Chao trainer, and a run-about."  
  
Later...  
  
  
  
"Well, well, well. A complete computerized spy network!" Tachiguy said with a sneaky grin. He was seated in the Central Control room in front of a whole group of screens, displaying different parts of Mobius being viewed by John's miniscule spy droids.  
  
NoOman entered the room and saw Tachiguy fiddling with what looked like a joystick. "What in the world are you up to?" he asked of his Pokemon.  
  
"I figure as long as we're here, we might as well have a little fun with it." Tachiguy replied, "First, let's see how the ol' homestead's doin'."  
  
Tachiguy's jaw dropped. There were police lines all over their apartment home.  
  
"What the hell?" Tachiguy gasped.  
  
NoOman then, with a smirk, said, "I'm a deserter, remember? Deserting is a punishible offense."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just hope they didn't find it." Tachiguy said with a nervous look on his face.  
  
NoOman, a bit curious, asked, "Find what?"  
  
"None of your beeswax, Fido!" Tachiguy snapped.  
  
He directed the spy droid to fly into a room inside NoOman's apartment while mumbling, "Please tell me they didn't find it. Please tell me they didn't find it!"  
  
His eyes went wide. There was an empty box under NoOman's bed. "NOOOOOOOOO! Those dreadlocked bastards! They took it! Damn you! DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!!!" Tachiguy screamed before crying and pounding on the console.  
  
NoOman took a look to see what his Ootachi was weeping about and asked, " 'Tachiguy's collection of Pokemobian Girl Monthly'? Tach, I don't remember subscribing to a magazine full of near-nekkid Pokemorph girls. Where did you get the money for something like this?"  
  
Tachiguy looked up at NoO and said, "Um...remember those declines in your account...?"   
  
"Wha...YOU LITTLE...YOU ROTTEN....AAAAAAARGH!" NoOman roared as he went into a fit.  
  
"Hey, I need a little variety in my life, you know. I mean, it sure beats looking at the inside of that stinkin' Pokeball." Tachiguy stated on his own behalf.  
  
"That money could've been used to bail out my buds, and you squandered it, you little fink! When I get my hands on you, I'm going to cram you in your Pokeball and keep it chained up until I find you a different owner!" NoO growled as he leaped to grab the Ootachi.  
  
Tachiguy jumped out of NoO's way and taunted, "Fat chance of that happening! Besides, you're a wanted man! Who's gonna take an adorable little fella like me from a criminal like you?"  
  
"Get back here, you little swindler!" NoOman angrily yelled as he pursued the "Long-Body" Pokemon.  
  
During their pursuit, they ran past Vector and Charmy. The bee looked on, then asked, "Whaddya make of that, Vector?"  
  
"10 to 1 on the dog, man." Vector said.  
  
Eventually, NoO remembered something. "Where's ChowChow?"  
  
  
  
Espio was eagerly awaiting his meal. It was Heavy's first cooked meal, fried Bantha meat, and he was willing to give the robot's culinary skills a try.  
  
"Here it is, my color-changing friend: a culinary masterpiece." Heavy said as he placed a covered tray in front of the chaemeleon.  
  
Espio licked his scaly lips with his long tongue and lifted the cover...only to find a yellow Chao licking its lips and patting a considerabley full belly.  
  
"What the...?!" Espio exclaimed as the web-footed Chao let out a slight belch.  
  
Heavy, surprised to see ChowChow there, slumped into a disappointed posture and muttered, "These 'guests' are slowly starting to become pests!"  
  
Mighty was then heard over the speakers, announcing, "Heavy and Dave, please report to Med Bay. We're ready."  
  
  
  
Upon their arrival, they saw John hooked up to a strange device.  
  
He was lying down between two rack-like podiums, with tubes going right into his ear holes, supposedly connecting into his brain.  
  
"What the hell is all this crap?" Tachiguy muttered as he, Dave, and NoOman entered the Medical Bay.  
  
"An invention of John's, oh ye of loud mouth." Heavy replied, "John called it the Mind Infiltrator. What it does is allow someone to enter the sub-conciousness of the subject lying there in the middle and observe whatever's inside the subject's thoughts, fears, et cetera, et cetera. John tested it once on a pizza delivery boy when he got indigestion from a sampling of his wares and suspected that Blue Fang was behind a possible poison attempt."  
  
"Uh, huh." Tachiguy said, "So?"  
  
"So, I plan on sending Dave into John's sub-concious mind and possibley discover what is ailing our blue-skinned leader." Heavy replied.  
  
"Can I also go into his mind? I want to help out, since he helped me out...twice, already." NoO requested as he counted the number of times that John came to his aid.  
  
"Well...I don't see why not." Heavy said with a shrug, "Your morals seem to be in the right place. Just step up to the rack on John's left."  
  
"HOLD IT!" Tachiguy said with an outburst, "What's the catch with this thing?"  
  
"'Catch'?" Heavy asked.  
  
"Yeah, you know! There's always some downside to a device this elaborate!" the Ootachi complained.  
  
NoOman shook his head and said, "Tach, you always assume there's a downside to everything."  
  
"Actually...there is a downside." Heavy admitted, "Your body in the real world here can suffer damage...even death, should something of the nature happen to your sub-concious representation."  
  
NoOman gulped. "R-really?"  
  
Heavy nodded an affirmative answer and explained, "The body cannot exist without the mind. If you die in John's mind, you die out here as well."  
  
Tachiguy then hopped onto NoO's lap and said, "Send me in there as well!"  
  
"Are you certain you want to do this?" Heavy asked as he approached the main control switch.  
  
"Hey, NoO's gonna need some protection in there. He can hardly throw a Pokeball, let alone a punch!" Tachiguy joked.   
  
"Very well. Prepare yourselves, gentlemen. You're entering a very hazardous land...the mind of John the Echidna. Good luck...you're going to need it!" Heavy said as he threw the switch.  
  
The racks then took on a horizontal position, with NoO and Dave on their backs. Two metallic boxes were lowered on top of them. With several beeps, there was a bright flash...and then darkness...  
  
NoO awoke with a start, with Tachiguy curled up into a ball on his lap. "Tach? Tach! Wake up!" NoOman urged.  
  
"No, mommy. There's idiot Pokemon trainers out today!" Tachiguy mumbled.  
  
With no other option, NoOman slapped the Ootachi's head lightly...which quickly resulted in the Pokemon biting his hand.  
  
"OOOOOOOOW!" the golden retriever screamed in pain.  
  
"Don't you ever, EVER, do that again!" Tachiguy snapped...until he looked around and asked, "Where the hell are we?"  
  
The surroundings were, to say, abysmal and downright ugly. NoO had seen pictures from the Holonet (the galaxy's equivalent of the human-made Internet) of places just like that, like the slums of Nal Hutta or Coruscant. But this place was much, much worse. There was an acrid smell in the air, like sulfur or ammonia, and NoO heard the sounds of metal gears and servomotors grinding.  
  
"It looks like Robotropolis." Dave answered..."But something certainly isn't right here."  
  
Dave's suspicions were confirmed when a pair of SwatBots walked past them. But instead of the usual domed heads, there were echidna-like heads, which resembled...The Enforcer!  
  
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Tachiguy said.  
  
"Look on the bright side, Tach. Atleast they didn't notice us." NoO offered.  
  
"Of course, they didn't. I'm currently using the Force to mask our prescence from John's mental guards." Dave answered, "Our best bet would be to head to the main Headquarters. There, we should find a possible door into John's memories."  
  
"And you're sure of this, how?" Tachiguy asked. A quick smirk from Dave then made Tachiguy mutter, "Oh, right. Force boy."  
  
And so, the odd trio made their way to an odd, egg-shaped building, which Dave dreaded to remember...Robotnik's headquarters! As they went through a wall (you heard right!) after a long climb, they entered the control room...and gasped.   
  
There, at the center of the room, seated in a high-tech-looking chair, was the Enforcer...or rather, a demonic personification of the vile, armored bounty hunter. His eyes were glowing a horrifying red, and his dreadlocks were connecting into different computer ports in the room. It was a very terrifying image.  
  
Fortunately, it seemed, the Enforcer was done with whatever he was doing, had his dreadlocks retract, and left the room.  
  
Tachiguy let out a sigh and said, "Man, I'd rather face the whole damn dreadlocked population of Echidnopolis than that monster!"  
  
NoOman then turned to Dave and asked, "Soooo, now what?"  
  
Dave looked over to the computer consoles and replied, "You're going to get on that computer and find whatever you can on John's past bounty hunts, and look up anything relating to John's condition. I'll cover for you."  
  
With that, NoO went over to the console and brought up John's memory files, namely, those for his past bounty hunts. The Golden Retriever's mouth went agape. 334 missions!!! "Dave, where the heck am I supposed to start?" he asked, "There's so many files here!"  
  
Dave suggested, "Try going for his more recent files, say...any that he might have suffered injuries from. He might have been injured and had a wound infected or something."  
  
NoO tried that and pulled up only one entry. The very last bounty hunt John went on. The one to Chandral!  
  
"All those missions and this is the only one he gets injured in. Un-bloody-believeable!" Tachiguy muttered.  
  
NoOman opened up the entry. It detailed everything about his hunt: the planet, the target, the client, the payment, everything! But the Golden Retriever had his doubts. Something was missing. He couldn't explain how or why, but he sensed that something was amiss. That was when he chanced upon a file...that required a password.  
  
"Uh...Dave? This thing's asking for a password. Any ideas?" NoO asked of the Gold Jedi.  
  
"Try 'Fight For Love'." Dave said as he stood guard.  
  
Suprisingly, the password was accepted.  
  
Tachiguy turned to Dave and asked, "Alright, thorn-butt, confess! How did you know that was the password?!"  
  
Dave smiled and said, "I'm a Jedi Master. The Force gave me the password."  
  
Tachiguy, pretty much irritated by the Jedi Master, went up to Dave and snarled, "I've had it up to here with your Jedi jazz! I have a good mind to take that glowstick of yours and shove it up your...."  
  
"Guys? I think you better take a look at this." NoOman said, his voice sounding a bit hollow.  
  
"Take a look at wha...HOLY HOT SMACKERS!" Tachiguy blurted out as he scurried up to the console in a brown, furry blur. NoOman knew that particular look in the Ootachi's eyes and felt that the feeling was mutual, for on the screen was a vision of loveliness.  
  
"Who is she? She's beautiful." Nooman asked as he viewed the green-skinned echidna on the screen.  
  
"Who cares what her name is! She's a babe...well for an echidna, she's a babe!" Tachiguy cried, his eyes transfixed with the screen.  
  
Dave took a look at the text next to the picture of her and said, "According to this, her name is Princess Adonna-Lyn, the daughter of the Supreme Ruler of Chandral."  
  
"Even better! She's a RICH babe!" Tachiguy drooled.  
  
"Tach, will you ease down with the hormone rush?!" NoOman snapped as he pulled Tachiguy away from the screen.  
  
Dave scrolled down the profile, then grinned. She had healing powers. "Just what the doctor ordered." Dave said.  
  
"What is?" NoO and Tachiguy asked simultaneously.  
  
"Adonna-Lyn has healing capabilities. This might be what John needs." Dave answered.  
  
Suddenly, the screen went to static!  
  
"ACK! Noooo! Where'd the babe go?! What did you do, FIDO?!" Tachiguy snarled.  
  
"I didn't touch anything!" NoOman said.  
  
Just then, a female voice with a seductive overtone was heard, saying, "This computer has peformed an illegal action. Please turn to the file marked ' YOU'RE DEAD MEAT!'". Just then the image of a dark-blue, voluptuous vixen appeared.  
  
"Blue Fang." Dave muttered under his breath coldly. During the whole affair with the Robotnik Mark 2 and Chaos, she tried to turn John against him and the other Freedom Fighters, so that she would have no opposition to keep her from claiming Mobius as her own.  
  
"Two hot babes in one setting! What are the odds?" Tachiguy asked as he viewed Blue Fang with lustful eyes.  
  
"Tachiguy, I wouldn't get too hot about her if I were you. That vixen tried to blind John into killing my friends." Dave warned.   
  
"Sooooo....that's bad?" the Ootachi asked.  
  
NoOman rolled his eyes and said, "Yes, Tach. That's bad."  
  
"Well, seeing as you won't really be able to help John in any way possible for your limited Mobian minds, here's what's up: I have blocked John's rememberance of that royal pain of an echidna so that he won't have a reason to return to her. John's little heart condition? Well...I don't want to give too much away, but I'll have you know that I'm not behind it." Blue Fang said with a smirk.  
  
"Curse you, you sadistic vixen!" Dave snapped, "What is your beef with John and this princess of his?"  
  
"I'll tell you what my...whatever that phrase means...with these two echidnas is! Her father was responsible for the death of my beloved mate, as well as the rest of my...social group, and he's responsible for helping her in taking away what was rightfully mine: The Supreme Chandral Throne!" Blue Fang growled  
  
She calmed down a bit, grinned, and said, "By the way, don't even bother helping John to Chandral. It certainly won't do him much good. And speaking of him...or should I say, his alter-ego, he's right behind you." With that, the screen automatically shut off.  
  
"Yeah, right! Like we're dumb enough to fall for that...HOLY SHIT!" Tachiguy shrieked, for there, standing over them like an eagle over its prey, was the Enforcer!  
  
"What do you think you're doing here?!" the armored demon demanded of them.  
  
"We're...just leaving. See ya!" NoOman said while he and the other two began to beat a hasty retreat.  
  
Dave then pressed something between his thumb and index finger, and said, "Heavy, we need to beam out of here!"  
  
"You'll need to head to where you guys first beamed into his mind, corner of 8th and Main!" Heavy replied through the small communicator.  
  
"We're not gonna make it! I mean, we're facing the galaxy's most merciless bounty hunter here!" Tachiguy commented as they went through the same wall they entered through.  
  
"Trust me. We'll make it. Grab on!" Dave commanded.  
  
NoOman held on to Dave's shoulder while Tachiguy held onto NoO's hair.  
  
With that, Dave began to run at supersonic speeds to the meeting point. While en route, NoO asked, "Did you get this ability naturally, or did you learn it from that Sonic guy?"  
  
"Actually, being a Jedi Master enables me to manipulate the Force to move at super-speed. It's an ability all Jedi can use." Dave mentioned...just as two echidna-headed Swatbots jumped in his way. Faster than even NoO and Tach could blink, Dave pulled out his lightsaber and hacked the two bots to bits.  
  
"Hey, Jedi boy! I thought Jedi were against using violence as a first measure." Tachiguy taunted.  
  
"It couldn't have been avoided, and besides, they're not real. They're just mental representations of John's protection against possible mind alterations." Dave stated just as they reached the rendezvous point.  
  
They didn't immediately exit John's mind.  
  
"Um, Heavy...about that beaming out!" NoOman shouted into the small communicator. They then heard the very sound of armor clattering, as well as angered breaths of air and beastial growls. They looked and saw the Enforcer leaping from building to building like a rabid jungle cat. Then, just as the armored demon nearly pounced on them, they vanished from its sights. As it landed, it looked around, then roared in full rage!  
  
As the metal tubes lifted off of the two Mobians and the Pokemon, Heavy went up to remove the straps that held them secure to the racks. Tachiguy's eyes immediately opened and he snapped, "You couldn't have done that sooner?! We were that close to becoming minced meat in there!"  
  
"I apologize for any possible trauma you might have suffered, but that's just the way John's technology works. Besides, he would have made up mental blocks to trap you within his mind, considering how deep you went in." Heavy explained. The Mechanix Drone helped Dave and NoO off of the racks and said, "I highly suggest you two get some rest. It would be vehemently recommended for what you went through."  
  
Dave suddenly felt ill, like a fever, but it was building up and getting worse. "Is it getting hot in here, or is it just me?" Dave asked.  
  
NoOman, sweating and panting like...well, a dog, commented, "No, it's not just you, Dave. I feel it, too!"  
  
Tachiguy then asked, "Where the heck's it coming from?"  
  
With that thought in mind, Heavy quickly ordered them out of the Med Bay. He then pulled out a geiger counter from one of his many shelf-like compartements. He waved the small detection wand until it reached the point where the signal was at its strongest. It was JOHN!  
  
Heavy quickly pressed several buttons once he got outside of the Medical Bay. The result was a group of heavy metal plates coming down over the windows and door into the room.  
  
"What was that all about?" NoOman asked.  
  
"As hard as this is to believe, John is generating a high amount of radiation of some sort, which might be tied in with his condition. It's possible that his heart might be going on meltdown. And should it reach a certain point, with all the power John has in his body...it would create an explosion powerful enough to blow the Floating Island right out of the sky." Heavy explained as best he could.  
  
"How long before he blows?" Dave asked.  
  
Heavy shook his head and answered, "Who can say? Hmm....since this didn't start to happen until a couple of minutes ago, my best guess is that he'll go nuclear in about a week."  
  
"What if you could reduce the temperature in there, to a point where it would be freezing?" NoO suggested.  
  
Heavy rubbed his metallic chin and said, "That might work. Putting John on ice could slow the build-up of radiation. For how long...I can only guess. I'll prepare a cryogenic chamber for John while Neon preps him for it. After all, her kind is able to resist heat, radiation included."  
  
With that, Heavy strolled off to do what he planned. NoOman looked at Dave and said, "Dave, while we were in John's mind, I felt...pain...it practically took all of my empathic abilities just to block it out."  
  
"John has a tortured soul, my friend. So many things have hurt him in the past." Dave commented.  
  
A couple of hours later...  
  
Heavy looked at the cryo-chamber with John frozen within. "He should remain at this freezing temperature until we find the possible cure for his condition. Speaking of which, Dave, did you find anything that might help our ailing leader?" he asked.  
  
"We're not sure on this, but I believe that the solution for John's problem lies on Chandral, a planet that shares our home system's orbit around its sun." Dave replied.  
  
Vector scoffed, "Get out of here! That dead rock?"  
  
"I believe what Vector means is that Chandral is surrounded by space rocks!" Charmy said, "How could life possibley exist on that world?"  
  
NoOman quickly said, "I saw it too when we were in John's mind. From a file we were able to dig up from a past bounty hunt he was on, we found that Chandral is practically teeming with life, especially sentient life!"  
  
"Heavy, you were with John. How could Chandral support life?" Mighty asked.  
  
"It is highly feasible that the Ditanium deposits that partially sticks out of the asteroids reflect sunlight down to the planet's surface, thus giving way to life." Heavy answered.  
  
Neon then asked, "So, now what?"  
  
"Our plan is simple." Heavy stated, "We'll take John with us to Chandral, locate and obtain the cure, and return to Mobius."  
  
"WHOA! I don't want that walking nuclear reactor with us if he's gonna blow!" Tachiguy shouted.  
  
"Besides, we can't leave with John." Dave said, "Blue Fang appeared before us while we were in John's mind, and she said something about not doing him any good with trying to take John to Chandral."  
  
Espio snorted and said, "Oh, yeah. Like WE'RE gonna take the word from one of John's enemies for advice!"  
  
Dave then said, "No. For once, she's right. She's created some kind of barrier around this planet. If we were to use a high-speed transport to deliver him to Chandral, he would be crushed to death when we reach the barrier."  
  
"Well, that's a fine kettle of fish for ya!" Mighty stated.  
  
Vector licked his chops and said, "Speaking of kettles, I'm hungry. What's for supper?"  
  
Neon Dragon glared at the crocodile and snapped, "How could you think of food at a time like this?!"  
  
"Comfort eating. It takes my mind off a bad situation." Vector replied with a grin.  
  
"You're impossible!" Neon muttered as she stomped away from the room.  
  
"What?" Vector asked, shrugging.  
  
Heavy then said, "We'll have to take the ShadowHunter. It's the fastest and most heavily armored ship we've got, perfect for making our way to Chandral's surface and back."  
  
Dave then said, "It won't be the only thing we're taking to Chandral. We'll be needing the dagger John procured from there."  
  
"Out of the question!" Heavy objected, "That weapon is too dangerous to fall into the wrong hands, that of which Blue Fang and her henchmen qualify!"  
  
"I gotta side with the Heav-ster on this one. The blue bitch is from Chandral just as much as that funky knife is. She could get her hands on it and use it against our bro here." Vector said, crossing his arms across his chest.  
  
"You will bring the Chandral Dagger to me." Dave said while waving his hand, "It shall be safe in my custody."  
  
"I'll bring you the Chandral Dagger, which will be safe in your custody." Vector repeated as he then lumbered off.  
  
"You Jedi and your mind tricks. I'll go prep the ship for launch." Heavy muttered as he went to the Docking Bay.  
  
Mighty then asked, "What about us? Shouldn't we come along?"  
  
"No. John's going to need round'-the-clock supervision, in case Blue Fang tries to take advantage of his being unable to fight back." Dave said.  
  
"Well, I'm coming!" NoOman stated, "He kept me from being wrongfully imprisoned by the EST and from being killed by a psychopath. I owe him for that."  
  
Tachiguy rolled his eyes and said, "Hoo-boy. I know I'm gonna regret this, but I'm coming with ya, NoO. Someone's gotta feed me."  
  
"What about you, ChowChow?" NoO asked. The yellow Chao looked up at him, then rubbed its head against his leg.  
  
"Looks like he's going with you." Charmy joked.  
  
An hour later...  
  
  
  
Dave sat in one of the chairs of the ShadowHunter's cockpit uncomfortabley while it was en-route to Chandral and asked, "How can John or you stand these things?"  
  
Heavy, who was piloting the ship, replied, "You'd be surprised."  
  
Tachiguy looked at the controls, his left paw close to a red button and asked, "What does this button do?"  
  
"Activates the self-destruct." Heavy replied.  
  
"What about this switch?" Tachiguy asked.  
  
"Activates the self-destruct." Heavy replied again.  
  
Tachiguy then looked at a harmless looking knob and asked, "And this one?"  
  
"Activates the self destruct." Heavy replied  
  
The Ootachi, getting a little annoyed, said "What thingy doesn't result in blowing up the ship?!"  
  
"Who said anything about the ship blowing up? I'M going to self-destruct on you if you don't keep your paws to yourself and stop asking about what the particular controls do!!!" Heavy shouted.  
  
That did the trick in keeping Tachiguy away from control panels.  
  
"We're now coming up on Chandral." Heavy said.  
  
NoOman looked out of one of the Ditanium-glass windows and viewed Chandral for the first time in his life. Tachiguy looked out another one and gasped.  
  
Another ship appeared, looking like a mirage's fading away put into reverse. And from the looks it, it was not there on friendly terms.  
  
Tachiguy then shouted over to the others, "Hey, guys! We've got company!"  
  
Before Heavy began to identify it, a verbal communique was made: "Thissss isssss the Tarroga Gan to SsssshadowHunter! Ssssssurrender now and I ssssshall be mercssssssiful with your death. Ressssssissssst and I ssssshall blow your ssssship to sssssscrap!"  
  
"Aldar Beedo. Doesn't that Glymphid ever give up?" Heavy muttered.  
  
"Wait a minute! As in Aldar 'the Hitman' Beedo?" NoOman gasped, "That guy's one of the best assassins in the galaxy!"  
  
Dave calmly said, "I'll try to talk with him and see if we an avoid a possible conflict."  
  
"Are you off your nut?! That's a grade-one assassin you're dealing with, not just some lunkheaded thug!" Tachiguy protested.  
  
Dave ignored the Ootachi, pushed the Comm button and said, "This is the ShadowHunter. The Enforcer, however, is not on board. So if you would please..."  
  
"LIESSSSSSS! I would exsssssspect ssssssuch from you, Enforcsssssser! Prepare to meet your maker...IN HELL!" Aldar Beedo snarled over the comm, opening fire upon the ShadowHunter.  
  
"Rather touchy, isn't he?" Tachiguy said, "Well, I hate to tell you 'I knew that wouldn't work', but..."  
  
"Tach, shut it!" NoO hissed.  
  
Heavy immediately ordered, "Strap yourselves in, gentlemen! I am about to take emergency evasive manuevers!" With that, the ShadowHunter went into a sharp dive and went into the asteroid field of Chandral.  
  
"That won't sssssave you thisssss time, you armored coward!" Aldar Beedo growled over the comm. He brought the Tarroga Gan into the field, lasers and missles blasting any asteroids in his way.  
  
But as both ships darted between the asteroids, the Glymphid noticed that he was having a hard time trying to target the ShadowHunter's engines and pilot the ship at the same time. And when one of the sharper rocks scraped at the Tarroga Gan's shield generators, that was when he decided it wasn't worth pursuing the Enforcer's ship any further into the asteroid field.  
  
"You may have essssscaped me again, Enforcsssser, but when you come out, I sssssshall be waiting for you." Aldar Beedo hissed angrily over the comm.  
  
After more of Heavy's piloting, the ShadowHunter finally made through the asteroid field.  
  
"Thank God THAT'S over!" NoO breathed with relief.  
  
"We're not out of this yet, my canine friend. You've yet to collect the fair Adonna-Lyn and bring her to her betrothed." Heavy commented.  
  
"Hold the phone! How do you know they're betrothed?!" Tachiguy shouted.  
  
"You forget, loud one, that I was John's co-pilot and partner during his time as an intergalactic bounty hunter. I could tell from the minute John first saw the lovely echidna monarch that they were made for each other." the Mechanix drone replied as he brought the ship close to the surface, "I'll land on the outskirts of Karlay, a town not too far from the Supreme Royal Palace. From there on in, you're on your own until I recieve a communique requesting pick-up. Understood?"  
  
"Crystal clear, Heavy." Dave replied.  
  
"Over and out." NoOman replied.  
  
"Ya ol' rust bucket." Tachiguy replied.  
  
As the two Mobians struck out on their own, NoO noticed a glint of metal sticking out of Dave's right glove, where his wrist met his hand. Dave sensed that NoO was looking, then hastily brought the glove over the metal.  
  
"Oh. I guess that's kinda personal, huh?" NoO asked.  
  
"Yes." Dave said coldly.  
  
The two Mobians entered the town of Karlay, a bustling marketplace. As they continued on, Dave stopped, looked at the sky, then looked in the direction of the nearby palace. He then frowned.  
  
NoOman noticed, then asked, "What's wrong?"  
  
"I'm not sure, but I sense a great disturbance in the Force, like a shadow over the sun. Something is wrong here...something malignant..." Dave answered, "Perhaps we should acquire disguises before we press on to the palace."  
  
As they neared a shop, the owner, an iguana, became startled and said, "Please! Take whatever you want! I promise I won't call for the guards!"  
  
Dave and NoO looked at each other, puzzled. Dave went up to the shop owner and said, "Sir, I'm afraid we haven't the slightest idea of what you're talking about."  
  
The owner looked up at them, his eyes widened, then asked, "You're not...Chandralite? Who are you people?"  
  
"I am Dave the Hedgehog, a Mobian Jedi Master. This is my travelling companion NoOman Dog. We need to acquire local garb so that we may be more presentable for the Supreme Ruler of Chandral. We're on business for the Enforcer." Dave replied.  
  
"The Enforcer? Well, why didn't you say so?! The Enforcer is a hero here, after he liberated Chandral from the cruelty of Blue Fang. Please, gentle sirs, take what you need. On the house."  
  
"That's very kind of you, but we can't just take your wares. It wouldn't be proper." Dave replied as he reached in to his pocket, pulled out ten of the fifty gold chandrits (Chandral's money), and gave it to the shop owner after he and NoO selected a pair of Chandralite robes.  
  
NoO noticed that there was much feverish activity in the marketplace, then asked, "What's going on?"  
  
"Well, everyone's preparing for a grand celebration: the wedding of Princess Adonna-Lyn and Prince Jirrard." the iguana stated.  
  
"WHAT?! That can't be!" NoO exclaimed, "The Enforcer is betrothed to her!"  
  
The iguana dropped to a conspiritorial tone and said, "You know it, and I know it, but Jirrard is a tyrant. Do you have any idea of what he'd do to me or my family if he found out that we spoke out against him?"  
  
NoOman gulped and admitted, "I...I guess I see your point."  
  
"Well, take care, and may Chandrala's luck be with you." the iguana said as they left the shop.  
  
As they approached the Supreme Royal Palace, the brisk afternoon was giving way to the cool of the evening. NoOman brought Tachiguy out of his Pokeball and ChowChow of his VMU as they hid behind a bush.  
  
Tachiguy yawned and asked, "So, are we in Babeland yet?"  
  
"Tach, I need you and ChowChow to stay here. In case something happens to us, I'm counting on you two to return to the ShadowHunter and get Heavy to take Adonna-Lyn to Mobius, regardless of what happens to me or Dave." NoOman explained.  
  
While ChowChow saluted to what would be NoOman's last words to him, Tachiguy became hysterical. "WH-WH-WHAT?! You can't do this to me! Who'll feed me?" he cried.  
  
"Relax. Hopefully, it shouldn't come to that, but just in case..." NoOman said until Dave tapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"Let's go." Dave said, "Even with John on ice, there's still the radiation threat. If we don't hurry, there won't be a Floating Island to return to."  
  
With that, NoO left his two smaller travelling companions in the bushes as he and Dave put on the hoods that came with the robes and strolled up to the Supreme Royal Palace.   
  
While they did, Dave asked, "How long have you had the gift of empathy?"  
  
NoO let out a wistful sigh and replied, "Longer than I can remember. I personally think my empathy has helped to keep me alive, by letting me know friend from enemy."  
  
"I know that empaths can even feel another person's feelings. What would happen if someone else was angry at the same time that you are?" Dave asked, just out of idle curiousity.  
  
NoOman stopped for a moment, then said, "I don't like to mention this, but once, some echidna pushed me into a patch of mud while getting into a taxi because he was in a bad mood. You'd never believe how much restraint I had to use to keep myself from ripping his throat open with my teeth."  
  
A little shocked to hear that, Dave simpley replied, "Oh."  
  
A guard from atop one of the battlements took notice of the two Mobians and shouted, "You there! State your name and business!"  
  
Dave shouted up, "We're merchants, wishing to sell some of our wares to the man of the palace!"  
  
"What kind of wares?" the guard asked.  
  
"Uh...imported cologne from various ends of the galaxy!" NoOman shouted.  
  
"Just a second." the guard replied before leaving the battlement.  
  
Dave turned to the Golden Retriever and dubiously asked, "'Imported cologne'?"  
  
"It was the best I could think of on such short notice." NoOman admitted with a shrug...just as the palace gate opened, "Well, that seemed to work."  
  
But then, a red and black blur zoomed towards and around them before stopping and revealing itself to be Shandray, holding the scythe end of her weapon out. Then, Dave and NoO's robes fell apart, shredded to pieces.  
  
"Merchants, huh? Well, if you're merchants, than I'm a filthy, dung-eating Overlander." Shandray snarled...until she noticed Dave's lightsaber and snatched it from his belt.  
  
"Hey, that's mine!" Dave protested, until the black cat captain of the guards brought the spear end of her weapon just inches from his throat.  
  
She brought the weapon close to her nose, sniffed it a couple of times, then muttered, "The Enforcer." She then turned to the Mobians and said, "Alright, you two! Move it!"   
  
"But we didn't do anything." NoOman tried to say on their behalf.  
  
"Tell that to Prince Jirrard, outlanders!" she snarled while shoving them with her weapon.  
  
Tachiguy watched as Shandray took the Jedi Master and his owner into the palace with ever growing dread. He knew that NoOman was a goner, considering he knew that the golden retriever Mobian was a strict pacisfist, which meant no matter much he was pushed around or made fun of, he would not fight back.  
  
"Well, that's it for him. C'mon, ChowChow! We're going back home." he said  
  
ChowChow made some sounds and pointed towards the palace, as if to say, "What about NoOman?"  
  
"To heck with him. He's cat chow!" Tachiguy snapped, "Let's just get back to the Enforcer's ride and get the hell out of here!"  
  
Suddenly, they heard the very sound that they dreaded to hear: the roar of the ShadowHunter's engines as it rose above the treetops near Karlay and began to fly away.  
  
"Oh...this is unbelievabley messed up! This cannot be happening to me! Trapped on an alien world, with a walking garbage disposal with the IQ of a six-month-old! This is so unfair!" Tachiguy screamed skyward.  
  
But as the Ootachi ranted and raved, he failed to notice that the Chao wandered away from him, following a rather sweet scent. When the Pokemon looked, he then screamed, "NOOOOOOO! Now I'm all alone on this stinkin' planet! WHY HATH THOU FORSAKEN ME?!"  
  
"Why, hello? Where did you come from, little one?" a sweet sounding female voice asked.  
  
The Ootachi's ears perked up. "OOOO! A babe!"  
  
He ran to the source of the voice and found ChowChow being petted by Neela, Adonna-Lyn's lady-in-waiting.  
  
"Manoman! Talk about your babes in the woods!" Tachiguy thought, "Hey...ChowChow! You little bottomless-pit-like back-stabber! Getting special treatment while I'm pouring my achey-breaky heart out to the cosmos!"  
  
In a blur of brown fur, he pushed ChowChow out of the way and appeared before Neela, saying, "Hello. I'm Tachiguy, an Ootachi, and I'm available!"  
  
She was stunned, not expecting to come face-to-face with a small creature that actually spoke English. "Um...." she tried to say.  
  
"Speechless? It's okay, my recently-made friend. I appreciate a gal that doesn't talk much." he said with a comical grin.  
  
"Do you know this little creature?" she asked while gesturing to ChowChow, who was giving an angry look towards the Ootachi.  
  
"Who? ChowChow, there? He's a travelling companion. Ignore him. Truth is, my owner and some nutso Jedi Knight from Mobius...." Tachiguy started to say...until he heard a startled gasp from Neela, "What? Was it something I said?"  
  
"You're the emissaries from the Enforcer's home world?" she asked.  
  
"Say wha?" he asked  
  
Meanwhile, back on Mobius....  
  
Neon left the cryogenically frozen blue echidna to Mighty's watchful eye and went to the Central Control room. John had hired her to find information on her and she intended to reach her contact. She opened up a transmission to what looked like an elaborate office of a casino. The door opened and slithering into the room was her contact.  
  
It was a yellow snake with brownish diamond markings trailing down his back and a nasty red scar over his right eye. Close to his round head was a pair of robotic arms that ended in clawed hands. He also had a leather strap in an X-shape on his chest with a red jewel and a belt with three holsters, with three blaster pistols in them. His only other article of clothing was a pair of dark-framed glasses.  
  
"You have reached the officssssssssse of Chrome Fingerssssssss Ssssssssnake. How may I...Neon?! Well, I'll be a ssssssson of a sssssspacsssssse ssssssslug! How've you been?" he asked, his red forked tongue flicking out as he pronounced his S's.   
  
"I've been busy, Snake." she replied.  
  
"Jussssst like old timessssss...you were bussssssy while you worked for ol' fat butt Robotnik, God ressssst hissssss cursssssssed sssssssoul. I tell you, Neon, bussssssinessss for me hassssss increasssssssed a hundred fold without the bloated one being around." Snake said, "Sssssso, who're ya working for now?"  
  
"I'm not at liberty to say. But Snake, I'm in need of your services...along the lines of covert actions." Neon hinted.  
  
"Oh, really? Now, I'm interessssssted." the snake hissed with a grin.  
  
"I'm sending you the information I've...borrowed from Robotnik's files before I came here to the Floating Island." she said as she plugged in a disk to the central computer and sent the info to Snake's office computer.  
  
"Project Dark Guardian?" Snake asked, "Ah, sssso you ssssseek information on the Enforcsssssser? Hmmm, thisssss might be a bit difficult, asssss no one ever wantsssss to know TOO much about him."  
  
The snake's face perked up with a greedy smile as he said, "However, for the right pricsssssse, I think I can arrange sssssssomething with the Sssssspiessssss Guild."  
  
"I don't care what it takes or how much to pay for it, Chrome Fingers. I need the best spy on Mobius to uncover important information on John the Echidna, so that's why I turned to you. You haven't let me down yet and I don't think you'll let me down now. My latest employer has charged me with the task of finding out anything about John the Echidna." Neon insisted.  
  
"Well, I sssssshall csssssertainly do my besssssst if you're willing to pay that much. Hope to ssssssee you later." Snake hissed joyfully as he terminated the transmission.  
  
"Well, John, hope this will help you." Neon muttered.  
  
Back on Chandral...  
  
"Remember, just do as I tell ya, and I think we'll be able to get past the guards just fine." Tachiguy whispered. To disguise their way into the Supreme Royal Palace, Tachiguy wrapped himself loosely around Neela's neck like a frock while ChowChow hid in the bag of Nikto Berries that Neela had with her.  
  
As Neela went past the guards and was within the palace walls, Jaratay, Prince Jirrard's scorpian captain, held out his left claw and snarled, "Hold it right there!"  
  
Under Tachiguy's suggestion, Neela said, "Please stand aside. I'm bringing Nikto Berries into the palace by order of his Highness Prince Jirrard."  
  
"That's his Majesty, for your information, you stupid servant girl." Jaratay growled while stepping closer to her.  
  
"HEY! Who're you callin' stupid, you overgrown insect?!...Oops." Tachiguy shouted at Jaratay...while also giving himself away.  
  
"What the devil are you?!" Jaratay snapped while aiming his spear at the Ootachi.  
  
With no other option, Tachiguy pulled out the Chandral Dagger, which he had hidden in his thick fur, aimed it at Neela's throat and threatened, "GET BACK OR THE VEIL WEARER GETS IT! (*whispers* Don't worry, I'm not really gonna harm ya. I'm just bluffing) GET BACK!"  
  
The scorpian grinned and chortled, "Do you honestly believe her life means anything to me?"  
  
Tachiguy then broke down and wept, "I can't do it! I can't bring myself to harm a being of such beauty as this!" But with quick action, he flung it at Jaratay and connected it with his throat. The scorpian looked at it...and fell backwards. Dead.  
  
"You, on the other paw, are a different matter, stinger butt!" Tachiguy grinned while pulling the dagger out of his throat.  
  
Neela was almost petrified with shock. "You...you killed him." she gasped.  
  
"Hey, I've done it before...but the jerks I did it to deserved it." Tachiguy admitted as he climbed back onto her shoulder, "So, we gonna meet this princess or not?!"  
  
"Not yet. I have to free your friends from the dungeons of the Supreme Royal Palace." she replied.  
  
"WHAT?! Listen, baby, forget about them. Let's just talk about...well, us. You and me, now and forever. Whaddya say?" the Ootachi said, brushing his bangs back.  
  
"I'm sorry, but my princess gave me strict orders to bring the emissaries straight to her, and I must obey her. I owe her family my life." Neela admitted, "You can stay in my room until I return with your master and this Jedi Knight you mentioned."  
  
The Ootachi, with his twisted little mind, thought, "Ooh, the girl's room. This is gonna be fun."  
  
With that, Neela left them in her quarters and headed for the dungeon, where some unknown instinct told her the emissaries were.   
  
"Now this is much better than the Enforcer's place. Much, much better." he said as he rubbed his paws together. The room, while not as ornate as any of the royal family's rooms, was good enough for Neela's needs.  
  
"Pika!" a small voice shouted out. The Ootachi's blood ran cold, a growl growing in his throat. There was a Pikachu in the room, and Tachiguy absolutely hated the little buggers, if not for their cuteness which netted them many female admirers, but because of some bitter grudge he held. Then, the little "Mouse" Pokemon stood up on top of a pile of pillows and cushions.   
  
"There you are, you little pika-chewable!" Tachiguy growled.  
  
The Pikachu sensed the anger in the Ootachi's voice and quickly ran away to another part of the room.  
  
"Yo, ChowChow! Help me take down the little spark-rat and you can have his head." Tachiguy proposed...until he noticed that the little yellow Chao was busy gulping down a entire fruit platter.  
  
"Grrrrr....FINE! I'll nail the little bastard by myself!" he snorted.   
  
And so, Tachiguy pursued the Pikachu around the room, careful not to disturb or break anything in the servant girl's abode. Then, the Ootachi cornered the Pikachu, who then began to build up energy in its cheeks.  
  
"Heh. That's not going to save you, my little feast!" Tachiguy laughed as he was about to dig his front paws into the floor. This was a tactic he used often when dealing with Electric-type Pokemon, allowing their electric attacks to be absorbed into the ground.  
  
However, Tachiguy realized, too late, that the floor was made of incredibley hard marble. He was in big trouble.  
  
"CHUUUUUUUUU!" the Pikachu shouted as it unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt attack and sent Tachiguy backwards, smashing against a wall behind ChowChow. The yellow Chao merely glanced at the Ootachi, shrugged and returned to his meal.  
  
"This...is why I hate Pikachu...ugh..." Tachiguy muttered as he slipped into unconciousness.  
  
Neela could hardly contain herself as she proceeded to the dungeons of the Supreme Royal Palace. A Jedi Knight!  
  
Her father, a squirrel (naturally) named Traiga, was one of Chandral's most powerful Jedi Knights, utilizing a De'kar Stick, the very weapon of the Chandral Jedi. She held the one she often hid in her hair in her hands. It was a gift from her father. He sensed that his young daughter held potential for the Force. But that was so long ago, and her father was...  
  
"Well, I cannot forever dwell on the past. If this Jedi Knight is for real, I want to learn as much about the Force as possible." she thought to herself.  
  
"How long are we gonna be here?" NoOman asked of his only companion, Dave. They were chained to a wall in the dungeon.  
  
"Until dawn. We've been scheduled to be terminated." Dave said.  
  
"WHAT?!" NoOman gasped, his face turning quite pale, "You mean he's gonna have us...executed? But what did we ever do to him?"  
  
"It's not what we did to him. It is what we were going to do. He has his sights set on making Adonna-Lyn his bride, and he certainly won't let her go. But...there's something else to all this. I've sensed it in him. He is keeping Adonna-Lyn strictly in her bedroom and not letting her leave the palace. But to what purpose, I have yet to discern." Dave answered.  
  
"Um, Dave? Considering we're going to be executed, would you tell me why you had to cover your hand like that when we first set foot on Chandral?" NoOman asked.  
  
Dave let out a breath and explained, "Long ago, when Robotnik took over Mobitropolis, a fellow Mobian named Bunnie and I were captured. Bunnie was being put into the Roboticizer and was in the middle of having the process being done to her when I broke free of the SwatBots holding me back and went to help her. But as I pulled her out, I got my hands and my feet roboticized in the process. For fear that I would not be accepted amongst my fellow Mobians, I hid my hands and feet, even to this day."  
  
"Oh. I'm sorry." NoO apologized.  
  
"I wanted so badly to get back at Robotnik for what he did to Bunnie and me, but a need for revenge would have led me straight to the dark side of the Force. So, in an odd way, I'm rather thankful that Robotnik finally fell at the hands of John the Enforcer instead of me." Dave admitted.  
  
Suddenly, Dave looked about in a highly attentive fashion. NoOman, filled with curiousity, asked, "What's going on?"  
  
"I sense something, like a ripple in a pool of water. Another Force user is nearby. I can feel its prescence." Dave said.  
  
"Pardon my asking, but what does it feel like, when you Jedi sense with the Force?" NoOman asked.  
  
"Well, it depends on the alignment of the user to the Force." Dave replied, "If the person is a Light Jedi, I feel warm, like sitting near a campfire. If the person is a Dark Jedi, I feel cold, like having an icicle being pressed against my spine."  
  
"And if they're in the middle, or their talent unrealized?" NoO questioned, merely curious.  
  
Dave replied, "Truth be known, this is a new experience for me. It feels like...nothing I've ever felt before."  
  
All of a sudden, something was slammed against the wall in front of the two Mobians, leaving an imprint of the dungeon keeper, a muscular bull.  
  
"What the heck?!" NoOman muttered in surprise.  
  
"That would be our mystery Force-user." Dave whispered.  
  
The door to their cell opened, and in stepped Neela as well as the bull. NoOman and Dave's eyes were transfixed with her emerald green eyes as she entered.  
  
"She's...she's beautiful!" NoOman thought.  
  
"Indeed." Dave mentally agreed.  
  
She looked at them, then whispered, "Listen. If you want to leave this place without being forced to (if you catch my meaning), you'll have to do exactly as I say."  
  
She turned to the keeper and said, "Taurus, unchain them. They're now in my custody."  
  
"Are you sure you don't want a few chains on them, to keep them under control?" Taurus said while going for his mace (and I'm not talking about a blinding spray!).  
  
"Rest assured, I'll deal with them." Neela snapped, "Now unchain them! Princess Adonna-Lyn is not as forgiving as I am."  
  
Dave then thought, "John made this princess of his sound like a dream come true, but this girl makes her sound like a nightmare!"  
  
As Taurus released them, Neela ordered them to wait by the door. But as the squirrel servant girl turned to leave, Taurus grabbed her right arm and asked, "What's in this for me, Neela?"  
  
"Nothing. Now kindly get your hand off my arm." she said defiently.  
  
"Oh no, you don't. I've been working here, hopefully to reap the rewards of palace life, and now's my best chance!" Taurus grinned lustfully as he tried to force Neela under him.  
  
"Why, you animal..." Dave growled, refusing to see such cruel action.  
  
"Stay where you are!" Neela ordered.  
  
Then, right before Dave and NoOman's very eyes, it happened.  
  
Neela opened the palms of her hands and unleashed a powerful barrage of Force lightning that sent Taurus smashing against the wall where the two Mobians were hanging. She then made the chains wrap around the bull and bring the key chain into her hands. She then dumped the keys down a drain, angrily saying, "Go fish!"  
  
She looked at the two Mobians, who were completely awestruck by what she did, and said, "Well? Let's go! It won't be long before Jirrard's guards look for us."  
  
As they left the dungeons, NoOman whispered to Dave, "The Force is strong with this one."  
  
Dave got his lightsaber from a rack close to the entrance to the dungeons and grimly said, "Yes, but which side?"  
  
Back on Mobius...  
  
"Enough's enough, you lousy female!" Espio snapped.  
  
Neon merely looked up from her post by the frozen blue echidna and asked, "I beg your pardon?"  
  
Espio nearly turned a bright red and growled, "You heard me! I refuse to work under some woman, regardless of specie. I'm obviously more qualified than you! But unless you're scared, I challenge you to a duel!"  
  
Neon grinned. After being trained by Robotnik to be one of his personal guards, she had more experience in fighting and would have more than a serious advantage against the boastful chaemeleon. "You're on!"  
  
After Neon got Vector to stand by John, she and Espio entered "The Dojo". This was normally John's Pokemon training grounds, which was resistant to Pokemon attacks to prevent damage to the base. But it seemed like the perfect spot for Neon and Espio to have their duel.  
  
"Don't think that since you're a girl, I'm gonna go easy on you...cuz I won't!" Espio said.  
  
"No problem, since you're going to wind up sore." Neon said while brushing some of her hair out of her face. But when Espio vanished from sight, Neon knew that this was where the chaemeleon would have a slight advantage, and that gave Neon some slight bit of concern.  
  
Something bashed her upside the head and sent her to the ground. "Not so tough now, are you, fire breath?!" Espio mocked.  
  
Neon got herself off the ground and heard what sounded like an engine revving up. She looked about, then noticed a few small dust clouds being kicked up.  
  
"Gotcha!" Neon beamed. She powered up a fireball and launched it where she saw the dust clouds. While it missed her main target, as Espio leaped to avoid the ball of flame, it hit the tip of his tail.  
  
"HA! Is that all you've got?!" Espio teased...until he sniffed, "Is something burning?" He looked, noticed that his whole tail was on fire, then screamed and ran about the room until he crashed into a wall.  
  
Neon went over to the unconcious chaemeleon, waved her hand and caused the fire to fizzle out. "Game...set...match." Neon said while blowing at her index finger like blowing smoke away from the barrel of a recently fired gun.  
  
Mighty came into the room, noticed Espio on the ground, with his tail charred, and commented, "Man, Neon! When you play hard ball, you really play hard ball!"  
  
"He challenged me to a duel, much to his disadvantage." Neon replied.  
  
"Anyway...Neon, there's a reptile to see you. He sez it'ssssssss top priority." Mighty hinted.  
  
"Right. Make sure no one bugs me while I talk to him." Neon instructed.  
  
"Yes, Ma'am!" Mighty said with a salute.  
  
Back on Chandral...  
  
"I don't believe we caught your name, fair maiden." Dave commented as they stealthfully made their way back to the squirrel servant girl's bedroom.  
  
"Neela. My name is Neela Persephone Squirrel." she answered as she carefully looked around a corner they were about to round.  
  
"Well, Neela, I would like to offer you our sincerest gratitude for helping us escape the dungeon." Dave said.  
  
Neela turned back to them and said, "The pleasure's all mine. Now please be quiet. There are two guards outside of my room."  
  
Dave stepped towards them, saying, "I'll handle them."  
  
"Are you crazy? Get back here!" she whispered.  
  
The two guards, both Jirrard's men, took notice of the hedgehog Jedi, aimed their spears at him and shouted, "Hold it right there!"  
  
Dave merely glanced at them, waved his hand in front of them and calmly said, "You are tired. Lie down and rest."  
  
The guards looked at each other, yawned, put their weapons on the floor and went into a Force-induced slumber. Neela, who had witnessed the whole thing, said, "I knew it! You are a Jedi!"  
  
"Of course. How else would you explain how I did this?" Dave asked while gesturing to the snoring sentries.  
  
NoOman, while sweating a bit, requested, "Couldn't we discuss this and some more pressing concerns INSIDE her room, rather than out here? I...I don't feel safe out here."  
  
"Your friend has a point." Neela commented, "Besides, with Jirrard around, even the walls might have ears. Let's take refuge within my quarters."  
  
So, with the very thought of being watched by unseen eyes, they quickly entered Neela's bedroom. She was quite relieved to see that it was still in one piece. A sickening belch alerted all three of them to a web-footed Chao on the ground, finishing off a platter of fruit.  
  
"ChowChow! Boy, am I glad to see you again!" NoOman exclaimed as he scooped up his little friend. But then, sensing the worst, he asked, "Where's Tachiguy?"  
  
The Chao made several noises and pointed over to the wall closest to the door, where the Ootachi in question was. He was against the wall, upside-down, his fur all puffed out and frazzled. He practically smelled of ionized air.  
  
"I know that smell. There's an Electric-type in here." Dave said.  
  
"Tach! Are you alright? Say something." NoO begged of his Pokemon pal. The Ootachi's face was utterly dazed.  
  
Just then, the very Pokemon responsible for Tachiguy's current state jumped down from Neela's bed and landed on her right shoulder. "Pika-piiiiii!" it squeaked.  
  
Tachiguy looked...and went crazy! "There he is! C'mere, you little monster! I'll bite your head off!!!"  
  
"CHAAAAA! Pikaaaaa!" the little Mouse Pokemon shrieked, hiding behind Neela as Tachiguy tried to charge at it, with NoOman holding him back.  
  
"Tach, stop it! That's no way to behave!" NoOman scolded.  
  
"Must...destoy the electric vermin! They make look cute and all, but they've been sent by the Devil himself!!!" Tachiguy growled, still trying to break free from his master's grip and attack the Pikachu.  
  
Dave then said, "Neela, I think it would be well advised if you hid your little pet in his Pokeball."  
  
"Considering the reaction I'm seeing right now, I have to agree with you." Neela said back. She went for her dresser, found the Pokeball for her Pikachu, and said, "You'd be better off in here for the remainder of their stay, Zapma. It's for your own good."  
  
The Pikachu nodded his head, and vanished into the Pokeball.  
  
"Oh, sure! Hide in your Pokeball, you spark-making coward! Once she lets her guard down, I'll be over you like a flock of angry Spearrows!" Tachiguy yelled, aiming one paw at the Pokeball.  
  
NoOman then shook the Ootachi and said, "NOW, LISTEN, YOU! Either you behave yourself, or I'll put you in your Pokeball and I'll never let you out again!"  
  
Tachiguy glared at NoOman and coldly muttered, "Shake me again, and the next time you wake up, there will be a bloody stump where your nose is."  
  
Dave quickly said, "Neela, we need to see the princess Adonna-Lyn, as time for John the Echidna is running short. We need to know what's afflicting John."  
  
"Her Highness would know more about what is causing John's condition than I, for..." Neela said, until she stopped and looked away, a bit sad.  
  
NoOman sensed it. The poor girl never had anyone she could call her lover, and that made his heart go out for her in pity. "Hey, it's alright. Someday, you'll find the right one for you." he said, trying to comfort her.  
  
"You believe so?" she asked, batting her emerald-green eyes.  
  
NoO nodded his head and said "I believe it would be very hard for anyone to turn away from a pretty face and a kind heart such as yours."  
  
"You're darn right about that!" Tachiguy said, getting between his owner and the servant girl, "So, whaddya say we ditch Fido here, and you and I go steady?"  
  
"Tach, I'm this close..." NoOman growled.  
  
Neela looked away for a moment then said, "Come. I'll take you to see her Highness. But when we reach her quarters, I'll go in first. As it is, she is in a very foul mood."  
  
Meanwhile, in FICC....  
  
"I can't believe it." Neon said, sitting back in the chair in the Central Control room, in utter disbelief.  
  
Chrome Finger's Snake shrugged (as best he could with his cybernetic arms) and said, "Hey, that'ssssssss what I've found out, babe. This Enforcssssser guy'sssssssss not a natural life form, but a conssssssstruct. A desssssssstructive, living organisssssssssm created ssssssssolely for the purpossssssse of obliteratsssssssion. Turn'ssssss out the Dark Legion and your fat former employer had a hand in Project Dark Guardian."  
  
Neon was absolutely flabbergasted. Her new employer, her protectorate, her friend, nothing more but a bio-weapon. "What went into creating him?" she asked.  
  
"The detailsssssssss are kinda foggy, but I wassssss able to find a lissssst of what went into him. The ingredientsssssss include: One bit of Guardian DNA, one bit of Csssssssshandralite Echidna DNA, one bit of Mobian Ssssssith Lord DNA, and the brain csssellssssss of a young Mewtwo. It'sssssss all pretty sssssscary ssssssstuff, if you asssssk me." he said while reclining in his seat.  
  
But then, the serpentine Mobian leaned forward and asked, "Ssssssso....about my pay....?"  
  
"It has been credited to your account, Snake." Neon replied.  
  
Snake looked at a small datapad he had with him, smiled, and said, "Nicsssssssssssse doing busssssssssinessssss with you, Neon. Hope to hear from you, and do bussssssinesssss, again." With that, Chrome Fingers Snake turned off the communicator at his end.  
  
Neon leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. "It's just so hard to believe." she muttered.  
  
"You mean that our blue bro's a clone? That's pretty freaky." a deep gravelly voice asked.  
  
"You can say that again." Neon remarked. Her eyes bugged out a bit in surprise, then she turned to see Vector standing there. "Damn it, Vector! You scared the bejeezus out of me!"  
  
"My apologies, Neon." Vector said with a slight nod of his head, "I just heard a conversation in here and wanted to check it out."  
  
"It was only a means to an end. John hired me to find out anything about his past." Neon insisted.  
  
"I'm sure." Vector said, coming over to her.  
  
"That's all it is, you crazy croc!" Neon snapped.  
  
"Listen, Neon. You're going quite a long way for our boss. That means a lot. Thanks." Vector said while kissing Neon's left cheek. With that said and done, he left the room. She put her hand on her cheek and felt the area where Vector kissed her. No one had ever done that to her. It felt...odd to her.  
  
Dismissing any further thought, she went back to the main computer and looked into the file Snake sent her on John's past. But as she did, she couldn't help but think about what Vector did just a moment ago. It was so unlike the party-hardy reptile she knew before...  
  
"Oh, it wasn't that much of a kiss, anyway!" she snorted as she returned to what she was doing.  
  
Back on Chandral....  
  
As the two Mobians and Chandralite servant made their way to Adonna-Lyn's bedroom, they passed by the servant girls' quarters. Tachiguy, noticing the room, scurried off of NoOman's shoulder, stood with his mouth agape at the sights within. Young, pretty, and lithe females of varying species resided in the room, speaking with each other in hushed tones. Tachiguy muttered, "I have died and gone to Heaven. Thank you, God!"  
  
"You believe in God?" NoO asked skeptically.  
  
"Gotta believe in something! Come on, boy! Time to become a man!" Tachiguy said, tugging on NoO's hand.  
  
NoOman yanked his hand away and said, "Thanks, but no thanks, Tach."  
  
"Wha....NoO, what's wrong with you?! There is a room full of beautiful girls in there and you're not even in the least bit interested in going in and saying 'Hi'?!" Tachiguy hissed in disbelief.  
  
"Tach, we're a bit busy at the moment." NoO replied.  
  
The Ootachi frowned and said, "I knew it."  
  
"What?" NoO asked.  
  
"C'mon! A room full of gorgeous, arabian-clad chicas, and you're not even thinking of entering and helping yourself to what this world has to offer? I think I know what's wrong with you." Tach said.  
  
Realizing what he was getting at, NoOman growled, "Don't even go there, furbag."  
  
"What? That it's the least bit possible that you're g...AAAAACK!!!" Tachiguy started to tease.   
  
That is, until NoO grabbed him by the throat and snarled, "NOW LOOK, YOU! For the most part, I've put up with your taunts and your insults for as long as I can remember having you around. But if you so much as hint at something like that, I swear, I'll make you regret it for the rest of your existence. IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?!"  
  
"Perfectly." Tachiguy choked, "Now if you would...urk...kindly remove your hands from the proximity of my neck..."  
  
Dave looked from around a corner ahead of the two and said, "If you two are done with your heated discussion, Neela's currently with the echidna princess. Shall we enter together?"  
  
NoOman glared at Tachiguy, then put him down on the ground gentley, saying, "If you want to go in there and mess around, that's fine with me. I, on the other hand, will be proceeding with our journey to help the one responsible for our being here in the first place." With that, he went to join the Gold Jedi.  
  
The Ootachi looked at his departing master, then back into the servant girls' quarters. He let out a slight moan of disappointment, then left, mumbling, "I hate it when he uses that kind of persuasion on me."  
  
NoOman heard the light footsteps behind him, saw his Pokemon companion following him, smiled and asked, "What changed your mind?"  
  
Tachiguy looked up at his master, then perked up and said, "Ah, those girls are so-so, especially in comparison to that foxy princess of Blue Boy's. I...uh...just wanted to see her in the curvacious flesh."  
  
The Golden Retriever smirked and said, "Yeah, right, you little liar."  
  
Neela poked her veiled face out of Adonna-Lyn's bedroom and said, "She's ready to see you two now."  
  
"Can I come, too?" Tachiguy asked eagerly.  
  
"Just as long as you keep the hormone rush under control. We're about to be in the prescense of a princess, after all." NoO whispered.  
  
"Check!" the Ootachi said with an innocent-looking grin.  
  
As they entered the princess' bedroom, Neela announced, "Gentlemen, may I present her Royal Highness, Princess Adonna-Lyn Echidna." The echidna princess turned to look at them, her hauntingly purple eyes resembling precious stones. She was dressed in her casual, dark-blue, silken garb, with a light-red silken vest to accentuate her look.  
  
Tachiguy took only one look at the green-skinned beauty, mumbled something unintelligible, and fainted to the floor.  
  
"Is something wrong with your furry little pet there?" Adonna-Lyn asked, getting to her bare feet as she did.  
  
NoOman, halfway between saying something inappropriate and joining Tachiguy on the floor, said, "With all due respect, your Highness, I believe he is stunned by your beauty, as I am right at the moment."  
  
She let out a breath of amusment and said, "I get that a lot. I must say, for a plain-clothes commoner, you have good manners."  
  
She turned to look at Dave and said, "As for you...I must say, I'm a bit surprised. Male Hedgehogs on this world are the lowest and most despicable sentient life forms on this planet. And yet, right here in front of me, is a hedgehog that doesn't start drooling uncontrollibley at the very sight of me."  
  
"If I may, your Highness, I'm not from this world and neither are my travelling companions. We've come from Mobius to seek you out." Dave replied calmly.  
  
"Mobius? Please tell me that my true love, John the Enforcer, is still alive!" she pleaded.  
  
"He is, but he is suffering from a strange condition, one that threatens to..." Dave began to explain.  
  
Adonna-Lyn interrupted, "Tear his heart in two. I know of this condition of which you speak. My mother informed me of John's suffering and it is my fault."  
  
"Your fault?" NoOman asked dubiously.  
  
"Yes, my fault. I should have warned John about the Cona-taan." she said while looking away sadly, "In my native tongue, it means 'link of the heart'. It is formed when a male and female of Chandral fall in love. Should the male be away from his lover, the link of the heart will take effect, as a reminder of his love. The only ways the Cona-taan can be broken is if they two become one. The other way is if the two remain as such."  
  
"In other words, unless a male and female are married, the male shall die." Dave said, with a slight gulp of grief.  
  
"As will the female. That is just how the Cona-taan works. And now, because I failed to warn my true love of this, I have doomed him and myself." Adonna-Lyn said, her voice filled with sadness, "But, more importantly, I have doomed him. He risked his very life for me a few times while he was on Chandral, and now, because I thought John would return to me before the Cona-taan would take effect, I'll never see him again."  
  
Dave put his hand on her shoulder and said, "That's why we're here, your Highness. We wish to take you to John, for, at this time, his very being as well as his home is in danger of becoming no more."  
  
"How do you mean?" Neela asked.  
  
"John's body is a unnatural generator of energy and right now, it's practically going on meltdown. Unless you and he are reunited, your Highness, he'll explode and take his home, and everyone and everything on it, with him." NoOman explained.  
  
Adonna-Lyn gasped, "By Chandrala..."  
  
NoO then said, "We have to get you to Mobius immediately."  
  
"I...I can't." the echidna princess admitted, "My father is gravely ill, or so I've been led to believe. If I leave him, with that arrogant Prince..."  
  
She stopped, for there, standing right at the door, was Jirrard!  
  
"What...is....the meaning of THIS?!" Jirrard said, his anger growing like an uncontrollable fire.  
  
Tachiguy awoke, saw Prince Jirrard, and said, "Hey, princess, who's Shit-skin?"  
  
"Wha...I should have known this was your doing. Trying to betray me, eh?" Jirrard snarled while lurking towards the echidna princess.  
  
Neela got between him and Adonna-Lyn and said, "Stay away from her, Jirrard."  
  
"Stay out of my way, wench!" Jirrard snapped while strongly slapping her aside, leaving an ugly bruise on her cheek.  
  
"Oh, that does it! Nobody, but NOBODY, hits a cute chica like that around me and lives to tell about it! SAY YER PRAYERS, CHUCKLES!" Tachiguy roared.  
  
"Who?" Jirrard asked, stopping just inches from Adonna-Lyn.  
  
"TAKE THIS!" Tachiguy yelled as he slammed his paw into Jirrard with a devastating Mega Punch attack that sent the vile echidna prince crashing through a wall.  
  
"HOO-HOO, YEAH! Whupped your butt bad, dreadlocks! Who the man, huh? WHO THE MAN?!" Tachiguy taunted...until Jirrard stood up, "WH-OLY SHIT, HE'S NOT DOWN YET!"   
  
Jirrard growled, pulled out his scimitar, and lunged at Tachiguy...just as Dave got in the way, his golden lightsaber activated.  
  
"You've caused enough pain and suffering. Justice must be served." Dave said as he held his weapon in front of him.  
  
Jirrard grinned, flung his cape aside and said, "So...you are a Jedi. I've always wanted to fight one of your weak-willed kind and put out the fire that is the Force."  
  
Dave himself grinned. Jirrard's weapon was a simple sword. It would be melted down upon contact with his lightsaber. But as they had their blades touch, Dave's confidence faded. Jirrard's blade took the swipe of the golden blade and held it.  
  
"Ditanium-alloy, I take it." Dave said.  
  
Jirrard nodded and said, "Life's a bitch, ain't it?"  
  
Completely without warning, Jirrard was slugged across the face and sent reeling, just as Adonna-Lyn hit him with a flurry of fists and feet. One hard kick, and the echidna prince was out cold.  
  
She let out several breaths, noticed that the Mobians were just staring at her and asked, "What?"  
  
"That was...cool." NoOman said, stunned by Adonna-Lyn's fighting prowess.  
  
"Are you kidding?! She kicks more butt than a level 100 Hitmonlee!" Tachiguy commented proudly.  
  
"Neela, did you acquire the Nikto berries I sent you for?" Adonna-Lyn asked.  
  
"Yes, your Highness. I hid them in my room." the servant girl replied.  
  
The echidna princess smiled and said, "Excellent work, Neela. I knew I could I count on you. Meet me, with the berries, outside of my father's bedroom in fifteen minutes. If you see Shandray, tell her to place Jirrard and his guards under arrest, by my orders."  
  
"As you wish, princess." Neela said with a courteous bow. She then left the room.  
  
NoOman went after her, saying, "I'm gonna go with her. Just in case she needs any help at all, your Highness."  
  
Adonna-Lyn nodded her head, to give a positive response.   
  
Tachiguy, ever so dubious of his owner, said, "Sure, you are, Fido! I'm going with you so you don't pull nothing funny."  
  
The princess turned to Dave and asked, "Are they always like this?"  
  
Dave shrugged and admitted, "I truly wouldn't know. I haven't been with them long enough to know them that extensively."  
  
A few moments later...  
  
"He's coming to. Looks like those berries worked." Tachiguy commented as King Aaron awoke.  
  
"Of course. Nikto berries have special healing properties for my people." Adonna-Lyn explained.  
  
The echidna monarch blinked a few times, trying to adjust his eyes to the dimly-lit room. He glanced up towards his daughter, then at the Mobians, then asked, "Adonna-Lyn, my daughter, what is this wild assortment of characters?"  
  
"I'm Dave the Hedgehog, Jedi Master. This is NoOman Dog and his partners Tachiguy and ChowChow. We're friends of John the Enforcer, your Majesty." Dave said with a polite nod of his head.  
  
"Ah, yes...the hero of Chandral...and my daughter's future husband." King Aaron said as he began to rise from his bed.  
  
Adonna-Lyn went to her father's side to help him up, saying, "Careful, father. You've just been through a pretty rough time, with Jirrard and all."  
  
King Aaron growled, "Ah, yes. Jirrard....That traitor! I shall certainly see to him. Owning slaves, slaughtering the people of his city, and now, he dares to claim my throne as his own!"  
  
"Heh, that's not all he tried to claim, if ya know what I mean." Tachiguy joked.  
  
"WHAT?! Even breaking the betrothment laws?! This goes far beyond treason! Rest assured, Adon, I shall see that he is punished to the full extent of our laws!" King Aaron roared with rage.  
  
"I've already seen to it that he and those who followed under him are held captive for just that reason, father." Adonna-Lyn said.  
  
Shandray came running into the room. "Your Majesty, I have dire news. Although our guards have rounded up Jirrard's men, we have been unable to locate the desert prince himself."  
  
"Find that betrayer at all costs, Shandray! I will not have him roving our world and causing more chaos than he already has!" Aaron ordered.  
  
"Yes, sire." Shandray said with a bow and turning to leave.   
  
"And as for you, kind Mobians, do everything in your power to escort my daughter to her betrothed. She deserves to be married to a hero, rather than a murderous, blasphemous, no-good son of a...." Aaron started to rant.  
  
"Father, watch that temper. You don't want your blood vessels to explode." Adonna-Lyn warned.  
  
"Hey, who's disciplining who?" Aaron said to his daughter, "Now Adon, take care of yourself. You will not believe how much I'm going to miss you."  
  
"Oh, father...I'll...I'll try to manage a visit every now and then..." Adonna-Lyn said as she embraced her father.  
  
"Awe, a touching scene...CAN WE GET GOING ALREADY?!" Tachiguy shouted.  
  
"Tach, don't ruin the moment." NoOman snapped.  
  
"Go with them, daughter, and beware. Jirrard had help in taking me down. From a look I got at the weapon that injected some kind of paralyzing spell into me, I have reason to believe it was some remnent of the Order of Darkness." Aaron warned.  
  
"Whoawhoawhoa! Of what?!" Tachiguy asked.  
  
"The Order of Darkness. They were Chandralites who used black magic to attempt conquest of this world. My father and a Jedi Knight eliminated many of their members." Adonna-Lyn said.  
  
"But apparently, some members of that corrupt cult have survived and continue to plot against us." her father finished, "Well, you might as well get a move on. I need to confer with the Council of Royals on a proper punishment for Jirrard and his men." With that, Adonna-Lyn and the Mobians were out and in the hallway on their way to the princess' quarters, where Neela was to supply them  
  
"So, where's John's ship?" Adonna-Lyn asked.  
  
Tachiguy gulped. NoOman knew that look and asked, "Tach, what happened?"  
  
"I saw the ShadowHunter take off! Whoosh, and it was out of sight! We're stuck on this rock!" the Ootachi admitted.  
  
Adonna-Lyn smirked and said, "Where there's a will, there's a way. After Neela gives us what we'll need, I'll speak to my mother for advice."  
  
And so, Adonna-Lyn received what she needed from Neela. The servant girl looked at her and said, "Your Highness, I am going to miss you. You've been like a big sister to me."  
  
"I'll miss you, too, Neela. You've been the only friend I've ever had in the palace ever since you first came into my service." Adonna-Lyn said as she hugged Neela. She then turned to the Mobians and said, "Well, let's get a move on, shall we?"  
  
"Master Dave? May I see you for a moment?" Neela requested.  
  
"Ooh, gonna get some of that action, eh, Jedi?" Tachiguy teased with a smirk. Dave promptly faced the Ootachi and made a slight gesture with his hand. In an instant, Tachiguy fell asleep.  
  
He turned back to Neela and asked, "You were saying?"  
  
"Master Dave, if you would, could you teach me the ways of the Force? My father, among the last Jedi on Chandral, passed away a long time ago. I have no one to train me properly on this world. Would you train me?" she asked.  
  
Dave's heart ached. It would pain him to say no, especially to the girl who helped him and NoOman escape the dungeon. "I'm sorry, Neela, but I am currently training another person in the ways of the Force. The Jedi code forbids that I take on another." he apologized.  
  
"Oh." she said, turning from him sadly.  
  
"Maybe...My current trainee is close to reaching the extent of what I can teach him. Perhaps someday, I could return to this planet and, with permission from the Jedi Council on Coruscant, I could take you under my wing as a Padawan learner." Dave said.  
  
Neela returned to face him, undid her veil, then kissed Dave on the cheek, saying, "That is for everything you've done to help us, especially during a dark time."  
  
Dave was speechless for a moment. While Neela was certainly very desirable, his heart truly belonged to Bunnie Rabbot, his friend since childhood.  
  
The squirrel servant girl backed away from him for a moment and said, "I'm sorry...I didn't realize that you...please forgive me..."  
  
A whistle was heard. They both turned to face NoOman, who had his head poking out from behind the door into Adonna-Lyn's bedroom. "WILL YOU TWO FINISH YOUR GOODBYES, ALREADY?! HER HIGHNESS IS ALREADY ON HER WAY OUT AND SHE'S NOT WAITING!" he shouted.  
  
"You are forgiven, Neela. May the Force be with you." Dave blessed as he turned to leave.  
  
"May the Force be with all who fight for justice, Dave Hedgehog." Neela whispered.  
  
"I wish to commune with the spirit of Queen Zara-Lyn." Adonna-Lyn finished. She and the two Mobians stood before the grave of her mother. Then, right before Dave and NoOman's eyes, Zara-Lyn's spirit appeared.  
  
"Hello, dearest." she said before looking up, "Oh. I didn't notice your company."  
  
"Mother, this is Dave the Hedgehog and NoOman Dog, the emissaries you foretold." Adonna-Lyn introduced.  
  
"I see. Let me have a closer look at them." Zara-Lyn said as she floated over to them, her ghostly form passing through them. To both Mobians, it felt like a slight tingling sensation, one that tickled NoO silly. Zara-Lyn appeared again before her daughter and said, "You are definitely in good company, Adon. They have virtuous souls...and they're quite handsome, too."  
  
"Ooh, I like her already." NoO said with a grin.  
  
"Mother, they're about to take me to Mobius, but I'm afraid that the ship they took, the ShadowHunter, has left this world, so, we're all stuck on this world.  
  
"Oh, the ship hasn't completely left our world." Zara-Lyn said.  
  
"WHAT?!" Dave and NoOman exclaimed.  
  
"It is in the asteroid field, awaiting a call from your escorts." the echidna queen simply stated.  
  
NoOman then shouted at Tachiguy, "And YOU said it left without us!"  
  
"Well, I....might have exaggerated a few details..." the Ootachi shyly admitted.  
  
Dave immediately got on his communicator and tried to contact Heavy. After several attempts, however, Dave threw up his hands in frustration and said, "I can't get through to the ShadowHunter. The asteroids must be blocking the signal.  
  
"Leave that to me." Zara-Lyn said, "Now go, child. And take care of yourself."  
  
"I will. Thank you, mother." Adonna-Lyn said. As her mother vanished, she turned to her escorts and said, "Well, let's get going."  
  
"Going where?" NoO asked.  
  
"Mother just let Heavy know about us. And now, we must head into Bumeria, to an oasis with trees shaped like a 'V'." Adonna-Lyn told them.   
  
"Sounds like somthing I've heard once, but I can't put my paw on it." Tachiguy said.  
  
"You're not going anywhere, except to my palace as my bride!" Jirrard yelled as he popped out of a bush and held Adonna-Lyn at scimitar-point.  
  
"Awe, gee...don't you ever give up?!" Tachiguy shouted at the echidna prince.  
  
"I'm not alone on this little endeavor." Jirrard said with a cunning grin as his guards (the ones that weren't captured yet) surrounded them.  
  
Adonna-Lyn fought to break free from Jirrard's grip and snapped, "You just can't take a hint, can you?! I don't love you! My heart belongs to someone who cares more about my feelings, unlike you who wants me solely for my body."  
  
"I love a woman who knows what I like." Jirrard said with a sneer.  
  
Then ChowChow charged and bit Jirrard on the ankle. As the desert prince screamed in pain and tried to shake the Chao off, Adonna-Lyn took advantage of the distraction and threw him to the ground over her shoulder. NoO took the opportunity to slug one of Jirrard's men across the face, Tachiguy Hyper Beamed many of the other guards, and Dave pulled out his lightsaber and activated the golden blade of light, daring any more the guards to try anything.  
  
Jirrard recovered from Adonna-Lyn's throw and snarled, "So that's it, eh? Give up your home, your wealth, your future rule over this world...all for some...stranger?!"  
  
"I'd die for him, because he was so willing to sacrifice himself for my sake." Adonna-Lyn said.  
  
"Very admirable. Of course, I'd also be saying that if I took 'no' for an answer...WHICH I DON'T!" Jirrard growled as he charged at Adonna-Lyn, his scimitar aimed at her heart.  
  
"Oh no, you don't!" NoOman muttered as he tackled the desert prince and knocked him away from the echidna princess. He looked up at her and asked, "You okay, your Highness?"  
  
"I could have taken him myself, but thanks, either way." Adonna-Lyn said with much gratitude. She then noticed the two-legged, reptillian karis in the royal stables and said, "Quickly! We'll take those karis to leave the palace."  
  
Dave deactivated his lightsaber, Force-pushed any other guards out of his way and ran to join the princess. NoO punched through the rest of the guards while ChowChow and Tachiguy followed close behind. One guard tried to get up and spear the golden retriever...only to punched down by the Ootachi.  
  
"Serves ya right, dirtbag!" Tachiguy snapped as he went to join the others. But as they entered the royal stables, he wrinkled his nearly non-existant nose and said, "WHOOOO! What crawled into this place and died?!"  
  
"Hmm...I guess Jirrard wanted the Supreme Palace to be much like his own: unkempt and unattended to." Adonna-Lyn said with a slight laugh. She then snapped the reins of the kari she hopped on. Dave and NoO did the same. ChowChow made himself go back into his VMU. Tachiguy, on the other hand, was hanging onto the tail of the kari NoOman was riding.  
  
Tachiguy looked behind them as they headed for the palace walls, and saw Jirrard and three other guards, mounted on karis themselves, coming right after them. "Your Highness, could we shift these things into high gear or somethin? We've got company!"  
  
"This is as fast as they go!" Adonna-Lyn shouted to them.  
  
"Oh, lovely! We're all gonna die!" Tachiguy waled.  
  
Dave looked ahead and watched as the kari Adonna-Lyn was on went up the wall as easily as it ran along the ground.  
  
"You've got to be kidding me!" Tachiguy muttered.  
  
Dave snapped the reins of his kari, as did NoO and they both went up the wall to join the echidna princess. But as Jirrard and his guards got close to the wall, several psychic blasts destroyed their karis and took out Jirrard's men. As Jirrard got up, he found himself at sword point...by King Aaron! "No more woman chasing for you, desert scum!"  
  
"So, someone's sapped your powers?" NoOman asked as they stopped on the edge of the Bumerian desert. It was night time, and Dave was busy standing watch for the first shift.  
  
"Yes. Fortunately, something like this has happened before, so I know how to break the spell that prevents me from using my powers. All I have to do is leave Chandral's atmosphere." Adonna-Lyn replied, "It's quite simple, really."  
  
"The only complication we have is the means of leaving your world, your Highness." Dave stated looking towards the vast desert expanse.  
  
Adonna-Lyn said, "I've got every bit of confidence in Heavy. He's always done what is best for John and he certainly would not let him die."  
  
"Your Highness, if I may ask, what is it that you see in John that you don't see in any other male on this world?" NoOman asked.  
  
Adonna-Lyn sharply turned to the golden retriever and demanded, "What do you mean by that?!"  
  
Tachiguy came out in front of his master before he had a chance to answer and said, "Well, for one thing, the rank difference. You, a lovely, curvacious princess; Him, a bounty hunter, which is considered in the galaxy as pure scum. What the hell's the attraction?!"  
  
"Yes, he was a bounty hunter, a person who murdered or brought in people, just for money, which does not please me one bit. But, when I was trapped by a vicious creature of my world, he did the most noble thing I had ever seen: he tried to get the creature to come after him, even when he was clearly outmatched. He nearly died, trying to insure my survival." she explained, "But another thing that attracted me to him was his vulnerability. Deep down, his soul is in a torment that not even I have encountered before. Many other men would have hid such thing, trying to act macho, which is a big turn-off to me. He is different from any other person I've met. It is his...uniqueness that intrigues me."  
  
She let out a slight yawn and said, "We better get some rest. It's a long way back to Mobius."  
  
"Yeah. Good night, your Highness." NoOman wished as he pulled Tachiguy into his sleeping bag.  
  
"I knew it! I knew it all along that you're..." Tachiguy started...  
  
Until NoOman hissed, "This is only so you don't pester her during her sleep!"  
  
Adonna-Lyn looked upwards towards Dave, who was sitting on a tree stump during his watch and asked, "Jedi Master Dave, what was it that Neela asked of you?"  
  
"She wanted to be trained as Jedi Knight." Dave simpley answered, "Sadly, I had to turn down her request, because the Jedi Code forbids that I take on another Padawan learner. But I said that once my current learner went to take the trials that would make him a Jedi Knight, I would return here and train her in the ways of the Jedi."  
  
"Oh." the echidna princess said.  
  
"Is something the matter, your Highness?" Dave asked.  
  
"It's...nothing." Adonna-Lyn replied.  
  
She then looked and saw the tip of the Chandral Dagger sticking out of Tachiguy's thick fur. She then reached over and grabbed it out of the Ootachi's grasp, near-silently saying, "I believe THIS is rightfully mine, furbag." She then placed the dagger in a sheath that was around her nineth dreadlock and hidden from view thanks to her braid of hair.  
  
The next morning...  
  
They rode out upon the desert sands of Bumeria, the heat of the midday sun beating down on them.  
  
Suddenly, something made Adonna-Lyn's kari come to a complete stop, sending the princess flying off of her mount. Dave and NoO turned their karis around to help the echidna princess.  
  
"Are you alright, your Highness?" NoO asked.  
  
Before she had a chance to answer, her mount let out a horrible shriek. A long, red, tube-like object was wrapped around its body. Then, four, triangular-shaped rocks came up around her kari, closed together swiftly, and pulled the two-legged reptile underground!  
  
"By Chandrala...DISMOUNT! NOW!" Adonna-Lyn ordered.  
  
"Why?! What's going on?" Tachiguy asked.  
  
Just then, the answer to the Ootachi's question came up out of the ground and looked down on them.  
  
It was a large, worm-like creature, its body segments resembling brown armor plating with small, pyramid-shaped knobs on each side of its segments. Its mouth was an odd beak, with each part opening up four ways: up, down, left, and right. Behind each part of it's mouth was a blinking red eye as big as Dave's head. It surveyed the beings below it with a cruel, hungry intelligence, then dove underground. They looked at each other, and made a run for it, leaving their mounts behind.  
  
"What the hell is that thing?!" NoOman asked.  
  
"If my memory serves me correctly, that thing is a Tunler." Adonna-Lyn answered.  
  
"Oh, a tunneler. Ha ha. Very funny." Tachiguy said dryly.  
  
Adonna-Lyn faced the Ootachi with a fierce look and said, "This part about that creature isn't funny, furface! Tunlers are carnivorous!"  
  
The Long Body Pokemon gulped and asked, "C-c-carnivorous? As in see-living-critter-and-yum-yum-eat-em'-up carnivorous?"  
  
"Exactly! We must reach the oasis quickly before we hear the last of the karis' screams." Dave said.  
  
Too late. They looked behind them, and watched as the Tunler that devoured Adonna-Lyn's kari was fighting over the last kari with two others of its kind. As they ripped it apart, they then turned to face the escaping Mobians and Chandralite.  
  
"Looks like they're done with the appetizers and are ready for the main course...us!" NoOman gulped.  
  
The echidna princess peered towards the distance ahead of them, and shouted "There it is! The oasis with two trees shaped like a 'V'! If we hurry, we'll make to safety."  
  
"With those things following us from underground?! Are you off your royal rocker?!" Tachiguy shouted, "They'll kill us no matter where we go in this crappy desert!"  
  
"That's what you think, oh, ye of little faith. NOW MOVE!" Adonna-Lyn said as she and the others began running again. Dave looked behind them as he heard a grinding noise. There was nothing but dust clouds of sand being kicked up. The Tunlers were on the move...towards them!  
  
Just as they were within a couple of feet before the edge of the oasis, three red eyes began to peer out of the sand as the Tunlers approached their prey. The worm-like monsters were practically at their heels.  
  
"JUMP!" Adonna-Lyn shouted. They made a quick leap, just as the Tunlers' beaks nearly snapped shut on their feet. Upon their landing from their leap, Dave felt something cool and smooth. Plants. They made it.  
  
"Uh...guys?" Tachiguy said while tugging on their clothing. The Tunlers were approaching the small island amongst the sea of sand like sharks.  
  
But as two of the Tunlers hit the edge of the oasis, they exploded out of the ground, shrieking unholy shrieks as part of their beaks looked melted away. They immediately turned away from the oasis and went underground in retreat. The last one, the largest of the three of them, merely went underground.  
  
Tachiguy stood there, his mouth agape, before asking, "Could someone tell me what the hell just happened?"  
  
"Tunlers cannot stand water. To them, water is like acid. Why that is, I don't know. What's even better is that they can only reign terror in areas with no moisture in the soil." Adonna-Lyn explained.  
  
Dave was on his communicator and desparately trying to contact Heavy. "C'mon, you roving scrap heap! We need a pick-up here and fast!" Dave shouted into the communicator.  
  
"I read you loud and clear, Master Dave...and I'm right above you." Heavy answered...just as the ShadowHunter de-cloaked above them.  
  
"Cute. Very cute." Adonna-Lyn commented.  
  
"Heavy, we need to get out of here and fast! We've fallen under attack!" NoOman shouted into Dave's communicator.  
  
"That's odd...according to the sensors, I'm detecting no hostiles..." Heavy replied...just as the large Tunler popped out of the ground, "HOLY SHIT, WHAT IS THAT THING?!"  
  
Adonna-Lyn, exasperated, said, "Never mind, Heavy. We need to leave and we need to leave now!"  
  
"Will you guys stop twisting my wrist?!" Dave said, yanking his arm out of Adonna-Lyn's and NoOman's grip.  
  
Then, a chain ladder fell down...onto Dave's head! "Dave, I'm lowering a chain ladder for you and the others to climb up. Watch your head." Heavy warned.  
  
"NOW he tells me." Dave muttered.  
  
Adonna-Lyn glanced at the Tunler as it once again went underground and said, "You boys better go up first. You've come a long way to help me, and I'm not about to have you devoured by that desert-dwelling beast."  
  
"Wha...your Highness, be reasonable. You should go first because you're the reason we came here in the first place. Besides...heh...ladies first." NoOman offered.  
  
"Screw that! I'm with the lady on this issue! You guys wanna stay here and be worm chow, that's fine with me. But I, for one, have no intention of being digested by some overgrown annelid!" Tachiguy shouted as he scurried up the ladder.  
  
"Well?" Adonna-Lyn said as she gave Dave and NoO a funny look.  
  
"Alright, we'll go up first." NoOman said, "Geez, excuse us for being noble."  
  
"We don't have time to be noble." Adonna-Lyn muttered...just as the Tunler came back, looking quite hungry indeed. It then lunged forward, its mouth aimed at the golden retriever Mobian.  
  
"Oh no, you don't!" Adonna-Lyn said as she gathered a handful of water from the pool of water in the oasis and flung it at the attacking monster. Upon impact, there was a burn made by the water on the Tunler's armored skin, and the creature screeched in pain.  
  
"Your Highness! Come quickly, before it recovers!" Dave ordered from the hatch at the bottom of the ShadowHunter.  
  
"Alright! Here I come!" she shouted up to them as she leaped, made it halfway up the ladder and continued to climb upward from there. Just as Dave predicted, however, the Tunler recovered, its eyes glowing with rage. It then extended a long tongue from its mouth and had it encircle Adonna-Lyn's left leg.  
  
"Aaaah! Let me go!" Adonna-Lyn yelled as she punched at its tongue. The worm-like beast did not relinquish its hold. The echidna princess then felt its tongue pulling her leg, trying to bring her into its waiting, drooling maw.  
  
Just then, Dave slid down the chain ladder, his lightsaber drawn and activated. He got close enough, then sliced off the part of the Tunler's tongue that was pulling her down. With that, the creature recoiled, withdrawing its now bloodied tongue and released a loud, angered roar as the ShadowHunter took off for the reaches of space.   
  
NoOman and Tachiguy pulled the ladder up. As they got Dave and Adonna-Lyn on board, she unwrapped the part of the Tunler's tongue and threw it out the hatch before NoOman closed it.  
  
"That was just too close, your Highness! You could have been killed." Dave scolded.  
  
"Well, I'm still alive, aren't I?" she argued, "Besides, I could have dealt with that thing's tongue myself." She then made her fist-claws come out, to demonstrate. But as she did, she let out a short cry of pain before having the claws go back under her skin. She looked and saw her dark-green blood flowing out of the open wounds where her claws came out.   
  
"What happened?" Dave asked.  
  
"I don't have my healing powers back yet. Until then, any pain I suffer will take a long time to heal." she answered as she tried to cover up the bleeding holes in her skin.  
  
"Fortunately, you'll have all the time you need to heal, your Highness." Heavy said as he entered the room where the others were.  
  
"Heavy! Long time, no see!" Adonna-Lyn said with much enthusiasm.   
  
NoOman then asked, "What did you mean she'll have all time she needs, Heavy?"  
  
The Mechanix drone let out a mechanical equivalent of a "hoo-boy" type sigh, then answered, "Just as a precaution, your Highness, we're taking a different route back to Mobius. It's a bit longer, I'll admit, but it will help us to avoid any trouble."  
  
"Trouble?" she asked, "What kind of trouble?"  
  
"Seems one of John's old buddies from his bounty huntin' days thought that Deadly Boy Blue was on board with us and he's dead-set on blowing us to smithereens." Tachiguy replied.  
  
"Great. Well, if it will keep us from being obliterated, we'll go with taking this alterate route." Adonna-Lyn said.  
  
"Wonderful. By the way, I'm sorry if I gave all of you a scare. There were overlanders swarming all over the ship. Seeing as I didn't want you being exhausted by fighting all those brutes off, I took the ShadowHunter up into this planet's asteroid field, where the airlessness of space finished them off. Since I saw them climbing the trees to get at the ship, I decided to stay up here until I heard from you." Heavy explained, "Well, since I have this thing set on Autopilot, why don't I whip up something for all of you in the Galley? You must be starved."  
  
"Bout' time! I need some grub to fill my empty little tummy!" Tachiguy said.  
  
ChowChow appeared out of his VMU and began to beat feet to the Galley.  
  
"HEY! Wait for me, you little vacuum!" Tachiguy called after the Chao as he also ran for the Galley.  
  
"Might as well get in a decent meal." NoOman said as he followed after his two travelling companions.  
  
"Even we Jedi need to eat sooner or later." Dave said.  
  
"Well, that's four for dinner. And you?" Heavy asked of Adonna-Lyn.  
  
She looked out a window of the ship and said, "Heavy, I need some time alone. You'll have to excuse me if I choose to pass on the offer of your cooking."  
  
Heavy bowed and said, "As you wish, your Highness." The Mechanix drone then plodded away as Adonna-Lyn continued to watch Chandral disappear behind the asteroids...  
  
A while later...  
  
"Man, can that bot cook!" Tachiguy said as he patted his full stomach. ChowChow agreed by letting out a satisfied hum and a belch.  
  
"Sure beats echidna cuisine!" NoOman said as he used a toothpick. He then noticed Dave looking away for a moment. "Hey, Dave. What's up?" he asked.  
  
Dave said, "I'm just wondering...Why didn't Adonna-Lyn join us for dinner?"  
  
"Whatsa matter? Can't your almighty Force tell you that?" Tachiguy taunted.  
  
Dave glared at the Ootachi and replied, "The Force cannot always provide every answer or solve every solution. For example, Jedi mind tricks don't work on some beings, like Hutts or Toydarians. In Adonna-Lyn's case, her mind is not as weak-minded as other species. Thus, I can't sense why she did not accept Heavy's dinner invitation."  
  
"If you must know, Jedi Master Dave, she said she wanted some time alone." Heavy informed them, "Can't say I blame the poor girl, seeing as she's leaving her homeworld to help the one she loves. According to the ShadowHunter's computer, she's in John's quarters."  
  
Dave then left for John's quarters. When he entered, he saw Adonna-Lyn gently brushing he hand along the cheek of a portrait of John, which had him in his armor, holding his helmet in his right arm. A love-lorn sigh from her was enough for Dave to tell what was on her mind. Then, his lightsaber hit part of the doorframe, alerting the echidna princess to his being there.  
  
"Forgive me, your Highness. I didn't mean to disturb you." Dave said.  
  
"It's alright." she said with a slight smile, "I could use someone to talk to at the moment."  
  
They then sat down on a nailed-down couch John used meditation. "So, thinking about John, eh?" Dave asked.  
  
"I think that's pretty obvious. *Sigh* I can't wait to see him again." she said as she reclined a bit.  
  
Dave let out a slight "ahem" and said, "Your Highness, this might not be easy for you to hear, but...John might not even remember you."  
  
"How could he forget me?" she asked...until she began to suspect aloud, "Oh no. Please don't tell me he's found someone else!"  
  
"Not by a long shot, your Highness. Blue Fang has induced some kind of memory loss on your betrothed to keep him from remembering you, and when he does try to remember you, it only doubles the pain he suffers from the Cona-taan." Dave answered.  
  
"I can't believe this. Why must this happen to me and John?" she asked.  
  
"Let's face it, your Highness: you and John picked a fight with the wrong person." Dave commented.  
  
"WHA...How dare you say that John and I are in the wrong! That witch killed many innocent people, including servants of my palace home and, more importantly, she mutilated my mother!" she exploded, "Not to mention what she did to me and my father! And you have the gall to tell me I'M in the wrong?!"  
  
Dave said, "My apologies, your Highness. What I meant to say was that you just went up against a powerful enemy, and now, she's using that very power to keep you and John separated."  
  
As the princess eased off her temper, she said, "There might be a better reason why she's keeping John and I apart. It's because of an ancient prophecy. I didn't want to believe it, until John first appeared in my life. My father had me recite it, even when I was old enough to understand words. 'A member of royal blood...an armored outsider who bathes in blood...both shall someday come together...wed,...and bare the child that will eliminate all evil.' "  
  
"And you believe John is part of the prophecy?" Dave asked   
  
"I not only believe. I know." Adonna-Lyn replied.  
  
Back on Mobius...  
  
"Well, Rouge ol' girl, we're out." Nack, a conniving weasal bounty hunter said to his fellow FICC inmate as they climbed out of the hole. Nack had light purple fur, a crooked-looking tail, and an Austrailian style hat.  
  
"Finally! If I spent even one more day in this claustrophobic pit, I swear, I'd go mad!" Rouge said as Nack helped her up. She then looked around and snapped, "Nack, you unbelieveable idiot! We're not out of this hellhole! We're still in it!"  
  
"I know. Look over there." Nack snickered with a conniving grin. They were right next to a cryogenic chamber. The one occupied by John!  
  
"Him...just let me do the honors." Rouge said as she prepared to to perform a heel-drop on the glass casing.  
  
"Whoa! Hold it, bat babe!" Nack said as he held her back, "That vixen who sent you after that dagger of his...from the sounds of it, she really hates this guy. What if we brought him to her? We could make a helluva lotta money! Whadya say?"  
  
Rouge thought about it, then smiled, "Nack, I like the way your mind works. Let's do it!"  
  
But before they had a chance to do anything, Vector entered the room, saw what they were doing, and hit the alarm. Nack then reached into his hat and pulled out a small gun.  
  
"And what do you plan to do with that toy, bucko?" Vector asked as he approached Nack.  
  
"Well, THIS!" Nack said as he fired. The gun unleashed a mess of red electrical energy that threw Vector back against a wall and knocked him out.  
  
"A compact neural disrupter. Clever." Rouge commented.  
  
"Heh, that reptile didn't know what hit him." Nack laughed.  
  
"And neither will you!" Neon said as she slammed her tail into Nack's head and sent him to the ground, unconcious.  
  
Rouge glared up at the Detrossian and snapped, "You'll never take me alive!"  
  
"Fine with me." Neon snorted at her, "With all the trouble you've caused, I think I'm willing to relieve you of the burden of your flawed existence."  
  
"Back off!" Rouge threatened as she pulled out small slug-thrower weapon, "One wrong move, and you're gonna find yourself without an employer!"  
  
"Don't even think it, you treacherous little fiendette!" Neon growled, "If you do this, you will deeply regret it. I assure you."  
  
Just then, John blinked his eyes within the chamber. He looked around, saw that he was in a confined space, and freaked out! He aimed his hands at the glass and fired a concentrated psychic blast to break out!  
  
Rouge screamed in surprise and jumped away to avoid the shower of shattered glass. Neon took advantage of the bat's distracted state and tackled her to the ground. They wrestled around on the floor for a while until Neon finally knocked the weapon out Rouge's hands and punched the bat girl into unconciousness.  
  
John sat up in the chamber and asked, "Neon, why was I put in deep freeze?"  
  
Neon got up and said, "For a moment, John, you're heart started to generate large amounts of radiaton, so we felt that if you were put into a cryogenic chamber, it would slow down a possible meltdown and even a powerful explosion."  
  
John could not believe what he had just heard. "You must be joking." he said, "There's no way in hell that I would suddenly become some walking nuclear bomb!"  
  
"I assure you, John, it's true. Heavy made the discovery about that, and robots don't lie." Neon said as she helped John out of the chamber, "By the way, how are you feeling?"  
  
John let out a slight grunt and said, "My heart's still in a bit of pain, but otherwise, I'm starting to feel a bit better." He then looked at Neon and asked, "Did you find out anything about my past?"  
  
Neon carefully thought about this. If John heard the truth about his origins, it would utterly devastate him. "I've...I've yet to hear from my contact. He's still researching for us."  
  
"Good." John said, "I'm gonna be in the Dojo if anyone needs me. I'm gonna need to reflect on what's going on at the moment."  
  
"Wait, you might need a little help out of the cryochamber. You're moving a bit unsteadily." Neon said as she got her hands on John and tried to steady his poise.  
  
"No, really! That's not necessary....WHOA!" John shouted as he fell out of the chamber and into Neon's arms. They both looked into each other's eyes during their decidedly awkward moment...just as the rest of the Chaotix entered the room.  
  
"John...what the hey are you doing?!" Mighty asked.  
  
Vector, recovering from the neural disrupter blast from Nack, saw the awkward scene and shrieked, "Neon! You hussy!"  
  
A growl burned in Neon's throat as she angrily demanded, "WHO'RE YOU CALLING A HUSSY?!"...inadvertantly dropping John at the same time.  
  
"Why me?" John muttered as he got himself off the ground...only to be knocked down again as Neon went after Vector, launching fireballs from her hands.  
  
Meanwhile, on the way back from Chandral...  
  
Adonna-Lyn tossed and turned in the bed provided for her on board the ShadowHunter. It wasn't that it was uncomfortable. She was having a nightmare, one in which she feared she might never see John again.  
  
Just then, a serene voice called to her, "Adonna-Lyn, please awaken!"  
  
She looked up and saw the spirit of her mother standing at the foot of the bed. She then asked, "Mother? What are you doing here?"  
  
"I have come to let you know that there is a way to help your husband-to-be regain his memory about you." Queen Zara-Lyn said.  
  
"Oh, Mother! I'm all ears! What should I do?" the echidna princess asked eagerly.  
  
"The Chandral Dagger holds the key to undoing the curse Blue Fang has laid upon your friend. But, in order for the dagger to remove the curse, you must help John remember as much as he can about you. Once the curse surfaces to cause John great pain, that will be the time to use the dagger's powers." Zara-Lyn replied.  
  
"Oh, thank you, Mother!" Adonna-Lyn said tearfully.  
  
"I must warn you that there is a danger." Queen Zara-Lyn cautioned, "If John recovers before the dagger can use its powers, it could rip his soul from his body. And no one's body can exist without a soul."  
  
"Understood, Mother. Thank you for your guidence." Adonna-Lyn said with a courteous nod of her head. Her mother then vanished.  
  
Just then, a loud boom was heard!  
  
"What the harak'tha?!" she shouted  
  
  
  
"Damn that infernal Glymphid! Doesn't he ever give up?!" Heavy snapped as the ShadowHunter was being pursued by the Tarroga Gan, laser blasts pelting at the ship from behind.  
  
"What's going on?!" Adonna-Lyn asked as she reached the cockpit.  
  
"An old friend of John's is paying us a visit...much like someone's in-laws." Tachiguy replied.  
  
"Another bounty hunter?" Adonna-Lyn asked.  
  
The others turned to look at her, like there was some hideous, slime-drooling creature behing her.  
  
"What?" she asked.  
  
Dave smiled. "She's getting her powers back much more quickly than we thought." he thought.  
  
More laser blasts began to rock the ship. "You ssssssshall not essssssscape me thisssssssssss time, Enforcsssssser!" the Hitman   
  
"Hey! Back off, Beedo!" a voice shouted over the comms.  
  
"What in the hell...Aaaaaah!" Aldar Beedo screamed as laser blasts began to pelt his ship.  
  
"Who is that?" Adonna-Lyn asked.  
  
Heavy looked and said, "They're here."  
  
Four small starfighter ships zoomed after the Tarroga Gan and opened fire on the Glymphid's ship. They had long wings, the cockpits on top of the long noses of the ship, and near the rear of the ship were two blue stabilizers with a G-Diffuser between them.   
  
With them was a larger ship with X-shaped wings, a large launch port, and two powerful laser cannons. And on its dorsal fin was a logo, which resembled the outline of a fox with wings.  
  
"The Star Fox Team?" Dave asked.  
  
"You mean that mercenary group from the Lylat system? What the heck are they doing here?" NoOman asked.  
  
Tachiguy shouted, "Who cares why they're here? They're kickin' Beedo Boy's ass! Go...Star...Doggies!"  
  
"That's Star Fox, you roving fur bag." Heavy corrected, "And as for what they're doing here, I sent them a message, and...well, John did them a favor a while back and now they're coming to help us."  
  
"Damn your hide, Enforcssssser! We'll meet again, and I ssssssshall have the upper hand!" Aldar Beedo shouted as the Tarroga Gan went into hyperspace.  
  
"Hey, Enforcer! Long time, no see, ol' buddie." Fox McCloud, the leader of the Star Fox team, said with a smile.  
  
"Couldn't keep out of trouble for even a while, eh?" Falco Lombardi, a falcon and 2nd-in-command to Fox, jeered.  
  
"This kinda brings back memories to when you aided us during the assault on Corneria." Peppy Hare, an aging hare and tactician to the team, reminesced.  
  
"Um...guys, he's not there." Slippy Toad, a young toad and mechanic to the team, pointed out.  
  
"Whadya talking about, you idiot?! That's his ship, isn't it?" Falco snapped.  
  
"The truth is, he's not on board." Heavy said, "He's back on Mobius and is gravely ill. We are, at the moment, bringing him the cure."  
  
"Wait a sec...isn't that...Princess Adonna-Lyn of Chandral?" Slippy asked.  
  
Falco grinned and said, "Hell, a girl like that...I'd consider her the cure to any disease."  
  
Adonna-Lyn scowled at Falco's statement, her eyes beginning to glow. The falcon then felt something hit him across the face.  
  
"Wha...wha...what the hell was that?!" Falco stammered, looking around in a confused manner.  
  
"Well, we are in a hurry, gentlemen. Thank you again for your help!" Heavy stated.  
  
"Anytime! And if John needs our help again, he can count on the Star Fox Team!" Fox McCloud stated as he and his teammates returned to their mothership, The Great Fox.  
  
"Guys, could you please explain what the heck hit me?!" Falco asked as their communication link faded.  
  
"Nice fellows." NoOman complimented.  
  
"The one with the beak needs some lessons in how to treat a lady!" Adonna-Lyn sniffed, "How does he expect to fit into normal society with his manners?"  
  
"Fit in...that reminds me. Your Highness, we need to discuss something." Dave said.  
  
"And that would be, Master Dave?" Adonna-Lyn asked.  
  
Dave then said, "Well, if you're going to be on Mobius, you're going to have to make some adjustments. If you exposed your true identity, it would leave you open to attack."  
  
"I see. Go on." she requested.  
  
"First, the attitude. On Chandral, you're the daughter of the Supreme Ruler, but on our world, you're another echidna. So, you'll have to forget some of your mannerisms as a princess." Dave started.  
  
"Okay. What else?" she asked.  
  
"Well, this is the major point! You're going to need a change in your wardrobe." Dave stated, "Nothing says, 'I'm a princess! Attack me!' like what you're wearing right now."  
  
The echidna princess had to think long and hard about this. To give up her clothing, which symbolized what she was..."Very well, Master Dave. You've been on Mobius throughout your life. You know what you're talking about."  
  
A couple of hours later...  
  
"Thank goodness Heavy's taking the ShadowHunter back to FICC." Dave said as he, NoOman and his compatriots stoon in "Stylin'", one of the many stores of the Echidnopolis Mall. Adonna-Lyn was currently in one of the dressing rooms, trying on a fancy dress that she picked out. Fortunately, she was supplied a trenchcoat to hide her appearance.  
  
"You don't think Heavy's going to get into trouble with John, do you?" NoOman asked.  
  
Dave shrugged and said, "Who can say?"  
  
"Alright, I'm done! What do you think?" Adonna-Lyn said.  
  
Dave and NoO looked. Adonna-Lyn was wearing the dress she picked out. The dress was of a pine-green velvet, with a span of nylon between the top and the skirt, which had long, open slits leading from the top of her legs down to her ankles. On her feet, she wore open-toe high-heels.  
  
Tachiguy took one look, gawked, then fell over.  
  
"You look absolutely ravishing, your High...MMPH!" NoOman started to say until Dave silenced him. "Oh, right. Sorry." NoO apologized.  
  
Adonna-Lyn blushed and said, "Thank you for your compliment, NoOman. I'm going to try on the other outfit."  
  
The other outfit was a white T-shirt, a black leather vest, deep red shorts, a yellow sweatband, and a pair of black sandals.  
  
"Tach, do you think you'll live?" NoOman joked.  
  
"I'm...okay. That echidna princess...no matter outfit she wears, she is one foxy chick!" Tachiguy said.  
  
"So, after this, what will you do, NoOman?" Dave asked.  
  
NoO looked at him and replied, "Well, I've a long journey to go on. My destiney calls to me in the wilds of the Floating Island and beyond!"  
  
"Don't look at me. Some slutty Zubat girl got him doped up with her Toxic attack." Tachiguy whispered.  
  
"All done!" Adonna-Lyn said as she emerged, dressed in what would be her main casual Mobian clothing.  
  
"Isn't that a little too...butch?" Dave asked.  
  
"Well, it makes me look a bit more Mobian, doesn't it?" Adonna-Lyn asked. When she felt that she had made her point, she smirked and said, "Thought so. Well, I'm done. I'm ready to see John again."  
  
"Now remember, Adon: Within John's base, you must not use your powers. John is very sensitive to psychic energy, and with his high degree of power...you have to be careful." Dave advised, "And remember, this is something you have to do on your own. I cannot interfere."  
  
She nodded her head to confirm that she understood Dave's advice. As they were having Adonna-Lyn's clothes being purchased, Dave's jaw dropped. "110 mobiums?! I don't have that kind of money on me." he thought.  
  
"Will that be cash or credit?" the cashier, a fairly pretty Meowth Pokemobian, asked.  
  
"Um...credit." NoOman said as he handed her his credit card.  
  
"Whoa, NoO, reality check! I thought you cleaned out your account before we went on your little voyage of discovery!" Tachiguy hissed.  
  
"I left a little in there. Maybe it collected some interest." NoO sheepishly replied.  
  
The cashier nearly fainted and so did NoOman, for, according to what NoO saw on the register, his balance came to 750 thousand mobiums!  
  
"That's a lotta interest, NoO." Dave joked.  
  
"Wait. That can't be right!" NoO said, shaking his head, "I only left 100 mobiums in my account. There's no way I could have accumulated 750,000 that fast!"  
  
"That's a little token fee from John, my friend." Heavy explained as he entered the store, "He wanted to thank you for your assistance in helping him. He also released your friends from EST custody, and cleared the EST records of your crimes, as well as any thoughts about you from their minds. They won't bother you again."  
  
NoO was flabbergasted. "Gee...I...I don't know what to say." he muttered.  
  
"Well, you could atleast sign this receipt." the cashier offered.  
  
A bit later...  
  
"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now." Adonna-Lyn said to Dave and NoOman, "I want to thank you, both of you, for helping me get here." They were outside of the Echidnopolis Mall.  
  
"All in the line of duty, Adonna-Lyn." Dave said with a bow.  
  
"Hey, how about a little sugar for Tachiguy, eh?" the Ootachi said while stepping out in front of NoO and grinning.  
  
"Tach...." NoO started to growl.  
  
"Okay. Just this once." Adonna-Lyn said with a smile as she kissed the Ootachi on the cheek.  
  
"Aaaaahhhh...a princess kissed me..." Tachiguy sighed, "Now...on the lips!"  
  
"Wha...why you sneaky little...OOOOOH!" Adonna-Lyn scowled.  
  
"Um...now would be a good time to depart. Glad we could help you, Adonna-Lyn!" NoOman called to the echidna princess as he seized Tachiguy and ran like crazy.  
  
"I HATE IT WHEN GUYS TRICK ME LIKE THAT!" Adonna-Lyn yelled.  
  
"Well, I better be on my way, your Highness. Fare thee well." Dave said as he began to leave.  
  
"Hmm? Oh. Farewell, Master Dave." Adonna-Lyn said as she waved goodbye to the Jedi Master.  
  
She then started walking away from the mall, thinking, "Now, if I were John, where would I be?"  
  
But as the echidna princess walked on, an alleyway came up on her left...where a pair of strong hands grabbed her and pulled her in! She fought to force those hands off of her, only to have a blaster's barrel shoved in front of her face.  
  
"Well, well, well. Another little girl, ripe for the slaughter!" Sleet, the owner of the blaster in front of Adonna-Lyn's nose, snickered as his partner Dingo held her from behind.  
  
"Do you creeps realize WHO you just grabbed...and watch where you're touching, buster!" she shouted at Dingo.  
  
"Oh. Sorry." Dingo said as he let go of her.  
  
"DINGO, YOU IDIOT!" Sleet shouted as he hit Dingo in the head with the butt of his blaster.  
  
"This would be the perfect time for a hasty retreat." Adonna-Lyn thought as she began to back away.  
  
"Not so fast, my pretty morsel!" a raspy voice chuckled behind the echidna princess. She turned around to face a female vampire bat with jet-black hair, yellow eyes, and a fire-red Chandralite outfit.  
  
"It...it can't be...Lady Screech!" Adonna-Lyn muttered in horror.  
  
"Wha....Princess Adonna-Lyn?! How did she....never mind. Capture her, you fools!" she ordered at the two Luperian bounty hunters.  
  
"Huh? Oh yeah...let's get her!" Sleet said, in realization of their main target getting away.  
  
The echidna princess had other plans.  
  
She grabbed a neaby garbage can, slammed it over Lady Screech's head, repeatedly hit it until part of it tightened around the vampire bat sorceress' torso, then kicked her towards the charging bounty hunters. Screech crashed into Sleet and Dingo and had all of them collapse to the ground. The young monarch looked back with a slight smirk and said, "Don't forget to recycle, guys. What a bunch of morons!"  
  
But then, a loud, shrieking sound was heard, as the garbage can exploded, leaving Screech looking at Adonna-Lyn with a look of unmistakeable hatred.  
  
"Hoo-boy. Time to...what's the word...book!" Adonna-Lyn thought as she ran out of the alleyway...and smashed into someone. She was knocked back a bit and landed on her back-side, but she was un-hurt.  
  
"HEY! Watch where you're going, lad-eeeeee!" the person she bumped into started to say until...he just sat there, looking at her with his silvery-blue eyes. It was John! "Hey, are you okay?" he asked.  
  
"Remember, Adon, he doesn't remember you. And with who's following me, I better make with the 'damsel-in-distress' routine." she thought.  
  
She clung onto John and said, "You have...help me. Some maniacs...after me! They just pulled me into that alley there and..."  
  
"Whoa! Slow down!" John said.  
  
"Where'd that little...YOU!" Sleet growled...until he noticed John with Adonna-Lyn.  
  
"Okay, I think I understand the situation now." the blue echidna said as he helped Adon up and started running to get her to safety.  
  
"Where are we going?" Adon asked.  
  
John looked back at her and said, "Someplace safe...and far away from them, that's where!"...just as they ducked into the Echidnopolis Mall. But as they ran through the mall, a loud noise shattered the glass roof above them, as Screech swooped down, the talons on her feet extended and ready to grab at her target.  
  
The former echidna bounty hunter got Adonna-Lyn to duck, then asked, "Geez, what did you do to piss these guys off?"  
  
"I kicked them...but it was in self-defense, I assure you!" she told him.  
  
"Forget it. Tell me the whole story when these guys aren't around!" John said as he squeezed off a couple of shots from his blaster at Screech's wings. His shots hit their mark and forced Screech to crash to the ground.  
  
"Let's go. We're not out of this yet." John said as he kicked open a door. A door marked "Authorized Personnel Only". "For the moment, that doesn't mean a thing to me. We'll be safe in just a few more minutes." he told her.  
  
As they ran down the bare hallways, a security guard saw them and shouted, "HEY! You can't be back here! This is a restricted area!"  
  
John aimed his hand at the guard and used a telekinetic-push to send the guard crashing into a vending machine. "Bite me!" John snapped as he continued to take Adonna-Lyn with him.   
  
"I can't believe you just did that!" Adon shouted at him, "Don't you feel the least bit guilty about what you did?!"  
  
"He'll live." John commented as he got close to a pipe valve. He stopped for a moment.  
  
She looked at him and asked, "What? What is it?"  
  
"It's funny...but...I feel like I've said that once...in a situation much like this." he said, looking into her purple eyes. He shook his head and said, "Never mind."  
  
He twisted the pipe valve, and opened up a passageway to his left.  
  
"The wonders of technology, my dear. Um...ladies first?" John said while doing a slight bow while gesturing into the passageway.  
  
"Still as noble as ever." she thought, "Well, might as well humor him." So she went in first.  
  
John watched her from behind as he closed the passageway door and locked the trigger for it. "There's something different about this girl...whoever or whatever she is, she certainly has perfect control of her mind. I can't read anything out of her." he thought.  
  
Screech tried to pick herself up, but she had a hard time doing so. Her wings ached, her whole body was in pain because of her fall...but worst of all, she felt a sudden draining of her strength...as well as a hunger building within her.  
  
"Miss? Miss, are you okay? Do you need any help?" an echidna asked of her. He had light-brown skin, was dressed in an EST uniform, and had the name "Jackson" imprinted on his shirt.  
  
Screech grinned at him as he helped her up, her fangs wet with drool. "As a matter of fact, young man, there is something you can do to help me." she said with a wild look.  
  
"And that is...?! What the hell?!" he gasped as her hair began to grey in an instant, a bit of her left ear shriveling up and falling on the floor.  
  
He was too late to break away from her, for she had a death-grip on him. Screech wrapped her wings around Jackson, forced his head to one side and bit into his neck with her fangs. Growling almost as loudly as her stomach, her face took on a demonic appearance as she put her mouth to his neck and began to suck his blood out.  
  
Sleet and Dingo entered and saw Screech in the middle of her unholy feast. She unwrapped her wings...the drained corpse of an echidna clattered to the ground.  
  
A hellish glow began to surround Screech as she appeared to be aging backwards, stopping at a point where she looked like she was just about Blue Fang's age.  
  
The two Luperian bounty hunters just stared, stunned.  
  
She licked the blood off her fangs and asked, "What? You never saw a vampire bat satisfying her thirst before?"  
  
"Dark Sister Screech: Report!" Blue Fang ordered, her image appearing in the cystal ball hanging from Screech's necklace.  
  
"Bad news, my Dark Sister." Screech admitted, "The echidna princess has made it to this vermin-infested world. She is currently with the bounty hunter you hate so much."  
  
"BLAST!" Blue Fang cursed aloud, "Can't I depend on you or those two numbskulls for anything?!"  
  
"Forgive me, Blue Fang. It won't happen again." Screech said, her head dipped downward in shame.  
  
"At that, you're right." Blue Fang said, her angry frown replaced with a cunning smile, "Return to base. We're going to pick up a certain someone from Chandral...someone who will help tip the scale against the Enforcer and that royal brat!"  
  
With that, Lady Screech began releasing smoke from her mouth as she and Sleet and Dingo vanished from the Echidnopolis Mall.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
"Prince Jirrard, you stand accused of murder, treason, breaking our anti-slavery and betrothment laws, and assorted other crimes against the royalty of Chandral. How do you plead?" King Aaron stated as Prince Jirrard stood at the executioners block, the executioner sharpening his axe.  
  
"Not guilty, of course, you dope!" he shouted at the Supreme Ruler.  
  
King Aaron sneered at his rebuke and said, "That won't help you this time, Prince Jirrard, as I have personally viewed the destruction at Bumeria city. Executioner?"  
  
The executioner nodded and forced Jirrard to kneel down, his head on a stone block.  
  
"May Chandrala have mercy on your soul, Prince Jirrard Calyon Echidna." King Aaron snarled as the executioner lifted his axe.  
  
But then, Jirrard vanished!  
  
"WHAT?!" King Aaron shouted in utter surprise.  
  
Jirrard opened his eyes. His head was still on his body. He looked up to see Blue Fang glaring down at him.  
  
"Welcome to Mobius, Ex-Prince Jirrard." she said with a horrid grin.  
  
"Mobius...as in the homeworld of that Jedi and that mutt who took Adonna-Lyn away from me?!" he growled.  
  
"Not only them, but also the home of the one who is truly betrothed to her." Screech said.  
  
"PLEASE! Don't remind me!" he snapped.  
  
Blue Fang grabbed Jirrard by the throat and lifted him until his head hit the cave wall where they were and snapped, "You couldn't even do anything to keep her away from the Enforcer! It practically took all my Dark Sister's power just to keep her from teleporting to Mobius!"  
  
She then dropped him and said, "Fortunately, we still have one chance to nail both of them. Sooner or later, that blue menace will have to come to the surface to have a considerabley normal wedding between him and the princess Adonna-Lyn. And when he does..." she made a slashing motion over her neck.  
  
At FICC...  
  
John looked at the young, green-skinned female. She was certainly flustered from her near brush with death. But as John continued to look at her, he couldn't help but feel that the young beauty in front of him looked familiar...  
  
"So, who are you?" he asked.  
  
Adonna-Lyn quickly remembered that, due to Blue Fang's cursed spell, he wouldn't remember her name. "My name is Adonna-Lyn, but you can call me Adon for short, if you want." she said, trying to sound as shy as possible.  
  
"Adonna-Lyn...that's a pretty name..." John commented, "So...why were those guys after you? From the looks of it, you must have been very important for them to pursue you."  
  
"I...I don't know. They just attacked me! I was so scared, I..." she whimpered as she began to cry.  
  
John went over to her, lifted her chin to have her face him, and said, "Hey, it's okay. You're safe here. I won't let them get you again."  
  
She looked at him, then wrapped her arms around him, having her tears fall on John's person like a light rain. John, at first, didn't know how to respond, being hugged by this young, innocent girl. With hardly any other idea of what to do, he put his arms around her and brought her into an embrace...just as the Zoom Tube doors opened, revealing the touching scene to the Chaotix!  
  
"Manoman, John! You sure can pick em' can't ya?" Vector teased.  
  
"So, if you have a moment, John, would you care to introduce us to your new friend?" Neon asked.  
  
"Yeah. Who's the broad?" Espio asked.  
  
"BROAD?!" Adonna-Lyn yelled angrily. She ran up and slugged Espio across the face.  
  
"Oooo...nice left hook." Mighty complimented.  
  
"Very funny, Mighty." Espio snapped as he got back up, "John, did you see what she did to me?"  
  
"Serves you right." Neon commented, "Calling a girl a broad is not appropriate."  
  
"Guys, this is Adonna-Lyn. She's gonna be with us for a while since Blue Fang's thugs and some newbie were after her." John said, gesturing to the young female echidna.  
  
"WHAT?!" Vector gasped.  
  
Espio gave Adonna-Lyn a dirty look and hissed, "I'm not going to forget that, lady." The chameleon then pulled his vanishing act while he walked away from the Zoom Tube station.  
  
"Um...Heavy, why don't you escort Adonna-Lyn to the guest quarters?" John requested.  
  
"As you wish, sir. This way, madame." Heavy said as he went down the hallway, leading the disguised echidna princess to the guest quarters.  
  
"Neon, I'll be in the Dojo again. Blue Fang's got some new flunkie working for her. A female vampire bat, from the looks of it. I need to meditate, possibley consider who I'm up against." John said.  
  
Later, at the Mess Hall...  
  
Espio was rubbing the point where Adonna-Lyn hit him and snapped, "I'm gonna get back at that girl for this. Mark my words!"  
  
Mighty, who took a bite out of a biscut he was eating, said, "Espio, don't. Whoever that girl is, John seems to have taken a liking to her, and he seems to be in better spirits because of her."  
  
Epsio's eyes bulged. "Mighty, did John mention where she's from?"   
  
Vector answered, "Now that you mention it, no. Why?"  
  
Espio put his hands down on the table and said, "John might be in serious danger."  
  
Charmy nearly choked on his food. Neon looked at the chameleon and asked, "Espio, how can you be sure?"  
  
"Isn't it obvious? Why would Sleet and Dingo be after this one girl? Why is it she seems so friendly to John, and yet, hostile to us? Something's fishy about that girl, and we had better find out what before it's too late." Espio stated.  
  
The others just stared at him.  
  
"SHE'S GONNA KILL HIM!!! She's probabley in league with Blue Fang, or worse...THAT IS BLUE FANG!" Espio stated.  
  
"Get serious. A girl like that?" Neon asked after a quick bit of laughter.  
  
"Well, I say we just keep an eye on her. If she pulls anything on our boss, we'll be there to stop here." Vector said, "Better to be safe than sorry."  
  
Neon slammed her hands down on the table. "What's wrong with all of you?! Some girl shows up and you all act like she's the devil! John is feeling a bit better with her around, and it seems to be doing him a great deal of good."  
  
The others just stared at her.  
  
She looked down at her food, then dashed her utensils onto her food tray and snapped, "That's it. I've lost my appetite." With that, she left.  
  
"Good. That means her Bantha chops are up for grabs!" Vector said as he stuck his fork into the meat on Neon's tray.   
  
However, another three forks stabbed into the meat. "Oh no, you don't! I saw it first!" "Like heck you did!" "I need more meat on my bones!" "Like you honestly need any more, Mighty!" the Chaotix argued as they fought each other for the meat.   
  
John sat in the Dojo, his legs crossed, and with all fingers (save for his index and small fingers) bent and touching his thumbs. His silvery-blue eyes were closed. The smell of a meditative incense was strong.  
  
He had to concentrate. First, Sleet and Dingo, now some vampire bat female that was hell-bent on killing that young, beautiful girl he..."BLAST!" John thought as his meditation was broken, "I can't get that girl out of my head. There's something...vaguely familiar about her...but I can't put my finger on it! WHO IS SHE?!"  
  
With her in mind, John decided to check up on her. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate, projecting his will, his spirit, his eyes into the guest room where Adonna-Lyn was.  
  
Apparently, she was...UNDRESSING?!  
  
John quickly stopped. "Damn it! What is wrong with me?!" he thought. This was the second time something like this happened, coming across a female in the midst of their wont of privacy. Such a thing to happen was embarassing to the former echidna bounty hunter.  
  
Adonna-Lyn looked about. She sensed someone watching her,...psychically, to be exact. Sensing no other beings with that ability, she came to the conclusion that it was John.   
  
But...John was better than that. As far as she knew him, she knew that John would respect her privacy rather than invade it. But the moment of sensing John watching her was extremely brief. She felt that he only wanted to check up on her, but didn't expect to come across her getting ready for a bath.  
  
"So, John's still the ol' noble softie I'd expect him to be." she thought with a light-hearted giggle. She then stepped into the bath and relaxed for a while. But as she was starting to relax, she heard a knocking at the door to the quarters she was now in. "Um...I'm in the bath!" she shouted over to the door.  
  
"Madame, it's me. Heavy." a mechanical sounding voice said.  
  
"Can it wait? I'm bathing!" she stated. She had not had such a long bath since she had left Chandral. While Jirrard was in the palace, she was careful of when she dared take a bath, especially with a sick perverted maniac like him around.  
  
"Trust me, it wouldn't be anything I haven't seen before." the Mechanix drone stated, "I'm here to deliver your night clothes."  
  
"Just leave it on the bed." she said.  
  
"As you wish, your Highness. And you can sleep a little easier tonight. John has switched off the cameras in this room, for your sake." he said as he left.  
  
Adonna-Lyn dried off after her bath, wrapped the towel around her torso, and took a look at the nightwear that had been left for her.  
  
She picked out one outfit she liked the most. Dark-blue. Velvet texture. Not too flimsy, not too tight, not too revealing. But the same went for the rest of the nightwear that had been provided for her. John certainly had good tastes in clothing, in her opinion.  
  
Wearing the outfit she put on and putting the other ones into the closet, she leaped and landed on the bed. It was very soft, even softer than hers on Chandral. She certainly looked forward to a comfortable sleep. And deep down, she smiled. Safe. At last.  
  
But...there was one thing that troubled her greatly. Lady Screech. A member of the Order of Darkness. If she and Blue Fang survived the elimination of their foul cult, there was no telling how many others were still alive, ready to rally with Blue Fang..."No. I'm better off if I don't think about that now." she thought, "Here, I'm safe. Safe with my beloved...that is, if I can get him to remember me."  
  
John got into his bed, wearing a white T-shirt and a pair of dark red boxers. His head was still ablaze with thoughts about the young girl he met this now passing day. Everything about her was beautiful. Her hair, her eyes, her face, her green skin...GREEN?!  
  
Now that wasn't normal. He had seen female echidnas on Mobius in skin tones of red, purple, brown, pink...but green?!   
  
And where the heck was her tail?  
  
John had to think about this. No Mobian echidna has green skin and lacks a tail. Something was seriously wrong here.  
  
And her attitude...first she was shy and innocent, then became someone who was thoroughly capable of whooping a Gamorrean with one hand tied behind her back! This girl...she was something else.  
  
"Hmm...maybe tomorrow, I'll...I'll do something special for her. Something to help calm her nerves." John thought, "But what? Flowers...nah, too classic. Candies...hmm, tempting, but the Chaotix would probabley get into it before she does. A date...yeah! That would hit the spot...wait. Can't go top side. With Sleet and Dingo and that psycho bat female around...ah! That's it!"  
  
During that night...  
  
Jirrard clutched his wrist, which was wet with his dark green blood. Blue Fang was busy casting what she had bled out of the foul echidna prince into a bowl-shaped stone.  
  
"Damn it, Blue Fang...that hurt." he whimpered.  
  
Blue Fang looked up at him and snapped, "Oh, quit your whining. Your kind can heal quickly, you know!"  
  
"I know THAT! But...that still hurt!" Jirrard complained.  
  
Blue Fang rolled her blood-red eyes and muttered, "Dearest Tarkalius, my beloved mate, what the harak'tha were you thinking when we welcomed this moron amongst our kind?"  
  
Jirrard joined with the Order of Darkness after he and a troop of desert marauders put an end to his father. He needed help to dispose of his mother and older sister, and that help came from Blue Fang's cult. As his part of the bargain, he sold his life to the Order of Darkness, willing to help conceal their efforts so that they would take down many of the royals of Chandral without them knowing what hit them.  
  
"So...what are you doing?" he asked.  
  
"Effecting the end of the Enforcer. With the potion I create from your blood, it will see the doom of the Enforcer." she said with a slight grin of satisfaction.  
  
"And, hopefully, see Adonna-Lyn in my arms." Jirrard said.  
  
"Don't you ever get it? She does not love you...and no, I cannot make her love you. Even black magic has its limits." Blue Fang said.  
  
"Hmm...a little more tongue of Taekwraith should finish it." Screech pointed out after getting a look at the potion being made.  
  
"So...what does this potion do, exactly?" Jirrard asked as the wound on his wrist healed up.  
  
Blue Fang loaded a bit of the potion into a vial and snickered, "That's for me to know, and for you to find out."  
  
The next day...  
  
Adonna-Lyn stretched out a bit and let out a slight yawn. She was well-rested...and a bit hungry. But she had to be careful. John's friends did not receive a good impression of her when she first entered FICC, and the one with the horn near his nose would certainly be the first to seek vengence on her.  
  
But, even though they outnumbered her and had their own skills and powers, she knew her greatest threat was John. She sensed how cagey he was, and she knew that if he got the wrong idea and identified her as a threat to his existence, it would be curtains for her. And earning his trust was something she would have to work on.   
  
Fortunately, it seemed, he generally accepted her prescence. Getting close enough to draw Blue Fang's curse out of him would be tricky.  
  
There was a slight knock at the door to her room. She quickly dove under the covers of her bed, and came out in her Mobian casual clothing. "Yes?" she called.  
  
"It is only me. Heavy." the Mechanix Drone's voice called from behind the door.  
  
With a sigh of relief, she opened the door. Heavy waddled in, saying, "Must you always be like this? After all, it is against my programming to show any displays of trashy behavior."  
  
"I know that, but I have to be careful. John, I trust. It's his friends I'm not so sure about." she replied.  
  
"When you put it that way, I guess that's understandable." Heavy said, "Anyway, John has asked me to escort you to the Dining room for breakfast. A rare honor, I must say. He normally doesn't eat in that room unless it's important."  
  
"Hmm...it must be important, in this case." she thought.  
  
So she was guided down the corridors of FICC by Heavy, showing her the different rooms. But as she walked through the hallways, she noticed several robots that were rolling around on treads, but had the upper torso, arms, and head of John's armored alter-ego, The Enforcer.  
  
"What are those things?" she asked.  
  
"Those? Oh, just Enforcer Drones. John's latest creation. They're strictly for waste disposal and maintenance duties." Heavy replied, "John plans to sell quite a few of them on the open market...that is, of course, after he can get them to stop looking like his armored self. It'll terrify kids for sure."  
  
"Kind of a recurring image, eh?" she joked.  
  
Finally, they reached the ornate Dining room. John sat at one end of the rectangular table, a pleasant smile on his face. He got up went over to where Adonna-Lyn figured she'd be sitting, and pulled out her chair.  
  
Whatever was on her plate for breakfast smelled delicious. It appeared to be circular slabs of bread-like material, slathered in a sweet-smelling, translucent brown goo. She sat down and John pushed in her chair, ever the gentleman. He then sat down at his own side of the table.  
  
"Pancakes with maple syrup. It's a personal treat I thought you'd like." John offered, "Heavy, leave us."  
  
"As you wish, sir." Heavy said as he bowed and left the room.  
  
John watched her as she used a fork and knife to cut apart the first pancake and eat a slice. She beamed, "This is absolutely delicious!"  
  
"You mean it?" John asked.  
  
She shot John a suspicious look.  
  
"What? I never cooked before." John admitted by rubbing the back of his neck unconciously.  
  
"Well, either way, you did an excellent job." she complimented.  
  
"Thank you." John said as he forked a slice of his, "So, where are you from?"  
  
Adonna-Lyn gulped. This was going to be a stretch...but she knew she couldn't lie to John. "I'm from Chandral." she said, "I had heard about you, the great 'Hero of Chandral', and I wanted to meet you."  
  
"Chandral, eh? Well, that would be the most reasonable explanation for her physical form." he thought. He then said, "Chandral's quite a long way from here. Surely such a teleportation trip would have drained you considerabley."  
  
"I...I arranged for a transport." she said. She mentally cursed herself. That had to be the lamest excuse she could come up with. Fortunately for her, John bought it.  
  
"Um...if it's not imposing on your time...would you care to go on a date?" John asked a bit shakily.  
  
"I'm not sure what a 'date' is, but sure. I'd love to." she replied.  
  
"That's great!" John shouted happily. Realizing what he just did, he quickly got ahold of himself and said, "*AHEM!* Wonderful. We'll meet at Hologram Training Room 2. Um...8 o'clock?"   
  
"Eight it is." she replied while flashing John a charming smile.  
  
"Right then....could you excuse me for a moment?" John requested as he got up to leave.  
  
"I'm fine here. Go ahead." she said with a nod.  
  
John left the room, stood out in the hallway and breathed heavily. "Thank God that's over with. I'd hate to show such weakness in front of her." he thought. She was so beautiful...no, that word wasn't even enough to describe her...perfect. There were absolutely no faults in her. She was absolutely perfect! And that was enough to take John's breath away.   
  
However...John couldn't help but feel...guilty. But what was he to feel guilty about? He didn't have any other standing relationships with those of the fairer gender...but...this guilt..."Why?!" he wondered in silent agony as the guilt racked at his soul.  
  
Pain. He suddenly felt the same amount of pain he had been feeling throughout the recent month, but now, it was much worse, as if someone was spearing him with a sword. He clutched his chest and vanished to his quarters, to his sanctuary.  
  
Adonna-Lyn smiled deeply. This was going according to plan, slowly getting John to warm up to her. This...date, as he called it...would be the perfect opportunity to get close enough to bring Blue Fang's curse out of him.  
  
Suddenly, she felt it. She felt a growing feeling of despair and confusion. It wasn't her. It was John.  
  
She quickly got out of her chair and went towards the door where she sensed his despair getting stronger. But when she opened the door, John was gone.  
  
But before she made a move, a pair of hands grabbed her from behind and slammed her against the wall. She then watched as Espio appeared before her, an angry look on his face. His hands were firmly gripped around her shoulders.  
  
"What are you up to?" he snarled.  
  
She gave him a cold, icy stare and replied, "I'm not up to anything! Now let me go!"  
  
"Wrong answer." Espio said as he moved his hands to Adonna-Lyn's left arm and began to twist it, causing the echidna princess to cry out in pain.  
  
"Big mistake, you asshole!" she thought as her eyes began to glow.  
  
Epsio then felt his hands lift off of Adonna-Lyn and then began to slap the chameleon senseless. With the necessary distraction, she did a low sweep of her legs and sent Espio crashing down on his back. She quickly ran to her room and locked the door securely.  
  
"That was too close!" she thought as she put her back to the door and slid down into a sitting position. She knew John must've sensed that. But after admitting that she was from Chandral, she knew he would know of her powers.  
  
She still couldn't help but feel sorry for John, being so full of pain, confusion, and despair. But...why did he feel so guilty?  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted when she noticed a piece of paper at her feet. She picked it up and it read:  
  
"Dear Adonna-Lyn:  
  
When you go for our date, dress as you are at this moment. I've something special in mind for our date.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
John"  
  
She wondered what John had in mind. She knew she was not powerful enough to sense John's intentions, but she knew John well enough to know that he would not do anything to harm her, if that was what this "something special" was.  
  
That very night...  
  
Heavy guided Adonna-Lyn to Hologram Training Room 2 as the time drew nearer to eight o'clock. She wondered why John did not come for her himself. "Probabley setting up this 'something special' he mentioned." she thought.  
  
Heavy stood in front of the blast doors that led into the HTR 2 and opened it. It was practically pitch black within the room.  
  
"Well? Go on." Heavy said while gesturing into the room.  
  
She very catiously entered the room...just as the blast doors slammed shut behind her, throwing her into total darkness.  
  
"It's alright, Adonna-Lyn. I'm here." she heard John say.  
  
She put her hands down at her sides and felt something. It wasn't the texture of the shorts she was wearing. It was made of fine silks, whatever it was, and she felt it all the way from the bottom of her neck to her ankles.  
  
A small ball of light appeared and flew about the room, lighting several candles as it did. The setting looked like part of a medieval castle. With the all the candles lit, she looked at what she was wearing and gasped in surprise. It was a shimmering, light red ball-gown.  
  
Moonlight began to pour through the open windows of the gothic scenery. Part of it fell upon John, who was devoid of his glasses and dressed like a regal, medieval lord. He then said, "Aptiva, enter Castlevania Legacy of Darkness music files and play MP3 file entitled 'Art Tower'."  
  
"Playing..." Aptiva replied.  
  
The sound of string instruments filled the air as John strolled up to Adonna-Lyn and, while kissing her right hand, said, "M'lady, may have this dance?"  
  
"Of...of course, my lord." she said, almost giggling. This was quite unexpected. But she took his hand and they went into the central part of the room.  
  
The music went into a slow waltz. Their eyes met as they danced around. Adonna-Lyn noted how John looked upon her, thinking she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen in his existence. She looked away for a moment and blushed, her cheeks now as red as fire.   
  
He just could not take his eyes off of her. She was more lovely than he could possibley imagine, her eyes alight like the stars above his homeworld.  
  
During the midst of the dance, she and John parted as a woodwind instrument played a slight air. Adonna-Lyn twirled around with all the grace she could muster before she found herself in John's arms again.  
  
"You're absolutely amazing, Adonna-Lyn." John complimented, "I've never seen anyone dance like that before."  
  
She smiled her most charming smile and replied, "Thank you."  
  
And as the music came close to its end, the music fading into the quiet solitude that the scene evoked, Adonna-Lyn thought, "Well, it's now or never."  
  
She brought herself closer to John, a little closer than even John anticipated. At first, he didn't know what to expect, and that made him a little nervous.   
  
"John, you've done so much for me. Thank you." she said as she began to pucker her lips.  
  
As much as John wanted to, something held him back. Again, the feeling of guilt washed over him. He tried to break away from Adonna-Lyn...but something...something he could not explain, made him draw closer to her. They both closed their eyes, they were getting closer...closer...closer...  
  
"Hey, boss! Where do we keep the imported Bantha mea..John, what the hell are you doing?!" Vector asked as he entered the room.  
  
Refusing to let this interruption ruin the mood, she wrapped around John's head and pushed his lips to hers.  
  
Vector, on the hand, gasped and ran from the room.  
  
John's eyes were wide with surprise. He finally managed to break the embrace and ran for his quarters.  
  
Adonna-Lyn shook her head, tears falling from her gentle eyes. It was ruined. Their date, the entire moment...it was ruined. She fell to her knees and wept, covering her face as she did.  
  
John stopped in his quarters, fell on his bed, and covered his face.  
  
"What was that?!" John wondered as he tried to collect his thoughts. Adonna-Lyn...this girl he had only known for only two days...she kissed him! The sensation was so sudden and new to the former echidna bounty hunter.  
  
Guilt. He could not even begin to fathom how guilty he felt. But it didn't make an ounce of sense. He knew no other girl who made him feel like this...but...why?  
  
He rubbed his face repeatedly, as if he could just push away this feeling he had.  
  
"Vector, quit hogging the shower, will ya?!" Neon shouted into bathroom. He had been in there for two stinkin' hours, and from the sound of it, he was muttering unintelligibley, as if something had traumatized him.  
  
"Um, Neon?" Mighty asked, "Who's in there right now?"  
  
"None other the Master of Morons himself! What the heck's keeping him?!" Neon said, trying to open the door.  
  
"Here. Allow me." Mighty said as he pulled his fist back and punched down the door.  
  
Vector was sitting down in the shower stall, his gloves, shoes, and belt still on, his left hand still on one of the knobs for water temperature. He had a look on his face like he had come face-to-face with the Devil himself, a nervous twitch in his eyes. He was muttering something they could not decipher.  
  
"Vector! Buddy! Snap out of it!" Mighty said as he shook Vector a little to make him regain his senses.  
  
Vector looked at Mighty and said, "John...John and that echidna chick...smoochy-smoochy!"  
  
"Vector, you have seriously lost it!" Neon shouted, "John and Adonna-Lyn were probabley having a romantic moment...and you've been in the shower for two whole hours with your usual clothes on! You're making this idiotic fuss over nothing!"  
  
Espio came into the room, bandages around his torso and an icepack on his head, saying, "Can't you people keep it down?! I'm still trying to recove...what's wrong with him?"  
  
"John...John and that echidna chick...smoochy-smoochy!" Vector repeated.  
  
Espio looked at Vector, his eyes full of disbelief, and left saying, "I need some anaesthetic."  
  
Heavy entered the bathroom, a sleeping cap on his metal head. From the looks of him, one could almost guess he had a close encounter with a lit powder keg. "I swear, you people just can't keep the noise level around here down to a minimum. I was just in my recharge station when I heard this slam against the wall. It scared Bomb into exploding! What in heaven's name is going on in here?"  
  
"You'd better ask Vector the Almighty Shower Hog!" Neon fumed, "I'm going to take my shower topside! This is just ridiculous!"  
  
  
  
The next few days went by like a never-ending nightmare for Adonna-Lyn. She couldn't even get close to John, what with John's friends coming across their moments and interrupting them. But fate...and a little help from Heavy...would bring the two lovers together, yet...  
  
Adonna-Lyn turned to the Mechanix Drone and said, "Heavy, I don't know what to do anymore. Whenever John and I get close, one of his friends come and get in the way. What am I going to do?"  
  
Heavy, as much as a robot was capable of, smiled said, "Do not fear, your Highness. I do have a couple of tricks up my metallic sleeve. And I think I have an idea brewing in my silicon chip mind."  
  
"Thank you, Heavy." Adonna-Lyn said, "It's hard to believe I'd turn to the robot that separated me from him in the first place to help bring us together."  
  
"I live to serve, Princess Adonna-Lyn." Heavy said with a bow before leaving the room.  
  
"And Heavy, one more thing: I need to know if John has found someone else...someone that would replace me in his affections." she requested.  
  
"Not to my knowledge, your Highness." Heavy replied before leaving her room.  
  
Later that night, John and Adonna-Lyn met in the Dining room, being served a special dinner prepared by Heavy. John was dressed in a fine suit, while Adonna-Lyn was wearing her dress that she picked out at Stylin'.  
  
"That is quite a lovely dress you're wearing." John complimented, "It matches your skin coloration."  
  
"Thank you." Adonna-Lyn said, her voice sounding a bit distant.  
  
This bothered John. She had been acting like this since she and John had their dance-date a while back. He wiped his mouth of the marinara sauce from his meal and asked, "Is something wrong? You've been very quiet this evening?"  
  
She looked at him and asked, "John, I need to know this: Is there someone else?"  
  
"What?" John asked, not quite understanding.  
  
"Someone else who...makes you feel the way you do around me." she said, her fair face looking deathly serious, "I have to know."  
  
Johon got up from the table and said, "Your suspicions couldn't be any more correct, Adonna-Lyn. There is someone..."  
  
"Oh no! By Chandrala's dreadlocks, don't let this be true!" she thought, her heart sinking.  
  
"I...met her sometime ago, on one of my bounty hunts. I can't remember her name...but, I can vaguely remember what she looked like." he said while looking out a window that was hidden by a hologram to look like the underside of the Floating Island.  
  
"Go on." she asked, fighting hard to restrain the tears that were swelling in her eyes.  
  
After a deep breath, John continued, "Well, her skin was as green as a forest canopy in spring and as soft as the silken outfit she wore, her hair was a color of a dawning sky...and her eyes...they would sparkle like the stars above...."  
  
Adon almost let out an audible sigh of relief. He was referring to her. She then saw John double over, his arms over his chest. It was now or never. She got out of her chair, pulling out the Chandral Dagger from the sheath around her nineth dreadlock.  
  
John looked up from his suffering, seeing Adonna-Lyn press the dagger to her head as she silently said the incantation.  
  
"Adon...Adonna-Lyn...?" John asked through his grunts of pain.  
  
"Forgive me, beloved." she said as her eyes closed and she released the dagger.  
  
It went to work, firing the red beam of light from the singular red jewel. It hit John and coarsed all over his form like electricity. It then turned a tinge of blue as it removed a dark cloud from John's body and returned to the blue jewels at the hilt of the dagger.  
  
After the dagger returned to Adonna-Lyn's hands, she quickly aimed the dagger out the window and muttered several words in her native tongue. Upon her command, the dark cloud that came from John's body flew out the window and dispersed into nothingness.  
  
She turned back to John. His body was deathly still.  
  
"Oh no. I hope..." she gasped. Without another thought, she quickly got down to John's side and began to breath into his mouth, trying to get his lungs back to working order. When she didn't get an immediate response, she hit a spot where she sensed his heart was. But before she got another hit in to get his heart to work again, she was pulled up and forced against a wall.  
  
"Whaddya think you're doing to John, lady?!" Vector growled in her face.  
  
But as Adonna-Lyn was pulled away from John, he began to regain his conciousness. "Awe, man." he gasped, "What hit me?" He looked, saw the Chaotix gaining up on Adonna-Lyn, gasped, and loudly ordered, "RELEASE HER AT ONCE!!!"  
  
"Sure thing, John...uh....WHAT?!" Vector asked.  
  
"But...we saw her hitting you!" Neon protested.  
  
"Let her go and leave us." John ordered, "I'll deal with her.  
  
The Chaotix looked at each other then left. John walked up to Adonna-Lyn, as if he had seen her for the first time in his life and whispered in awe, "Princess Adonna-Lyn...?  
  
"Yes, John. It's me." she replied.  
  
"Oh, your Highness!" John said, getting down on one knee and kissing her right hand.  
  
"Oh, don't do that!" she said, pulling her hand away.  
  
"Adon...it...how...wow! It's good to see you again!" John said excitedly.  
  
She blushed and said, "It does my hearts good to see you again, John. Now, how come you didn't come for me after Robotnik was defeated, like you promised?"  
  
John gulped. He did break his promise, but it was for a good reason. "I didn't come for you because there was still the problem of Blue Fang. As you can see, Mobius' best aren't enough to face her. I wanted to leave Mobius when the immediate threat of Blue Fang and her associates was subdued. I made my choice for your safety, Adonna-Lyn."  
  
"As sweet as that is, John, you still should have returned to me, like you promised. After all, you know I can take care of myself." she said.  
  
"I know...but,...I do love you, Adonna-Lyn. My life would be in tatters without you in it." John said while holding her hands, "Blue Fang is more formidable than she was when we first faced her."  
  
"Well, not unless..." she said hinting at something.  
  
John smiled, knowing what she was hinting at. "Saturday good for you?"  
  
"So soon?" she asked.  
  
"The sooner, the better." John said.  
  
"Very well, then. We shall get married on Saturday." she said while lovingly gazing into his eyes.  
  
  
  
Neon stood by the doorway with the other Chaotix. They heard everything.  
  
"The dame's a princess?!" Vector asked in disbelief.  
  
"Who would've guessed?" Mighty asked while shrugging.  
  
"I believe I shall field your questions." Heavy said from behind them.  
  
He then explained everything about John and Adonna-Lyn and their relationship.  
  
"Understandable...but why all the secrecy?" Charmy asked.  
  
Neon, with her arms crossed over her chest, said, "Yeah. We happen to be John's friends and bodyguards. We should have had a right to know about this!"  
  
Heavy answered, "It was not only for the protection of you and John, but for her Highness as well. Could any of you imagine the devastation that would have followed if you were tortured to reveal such information? Adonna-Lyn, and her world, would have been put into grave danger."  
  
"Well, now that you put it that way, I guess it makes sense." Mighty said.  
  
Friday evening...  
  
Lady Screech returned to the lair that Blue Fang had made into their place of operations.  
  
"Dark Sister, I have important news to deliver." she said to Blue Fang.  
  
"What news?" Jirrard asked as he sharpened his scimitar.  
  
"The two echidnas you hate so much are to be wed tomorrow." Lady Screech reported.  
  
"WHAT?!" Jirrard screamed, "She can't do that to me!!! Marrying some low-born trash instead of me! The nerve! What does he have that I don't?"  
  
"A life, for one thing." Sleet commented, much to the amusement of Dingo.  
  
"Who asked you flunkies to give a statement?!" Jirrard snarled...until Sleet came right at him and pointed a blaster at the bottom of his chin.  
  
"No one...but if you want to keep your brains in your head, I suggest you watch your mouth, your ex-royal Highness." Sleet said as he holstered the gun.  
  
"Enough of this pointless bickering!" Blue Fang ordered, "Get some rest, all of you. Tomorrow, we shall turn this wedding into a funeral!"  
  
Saturday, midday...  
  
John stood before a mirror in a room of the church, adjusting his tie, suited up in a fine tuxedo. He turned to Heavy and asked, "How do I look?"  
  
"Like someone ready to get married...or buried, sir." Heavy replied.  
  
"Is everything in readiness? John asked.  
  
Heavy nodded and answered, "That vixen would have to be brave, crazy or incredibley stupid to get in here with the security we have here now."  
  
"Still, we should remain on our guard. I've dealt with Blue Fang before. True to her species, she's sneaky to a fault, and that's why I can't afford to have this matrimony become a bloodbath." John said, "How is Adonna-Lyn?"  
  
"Now, sir, you know it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding." the Mechanix drone commented while waving a disapproving finger at him.  
  
"I know about wedding superstitions, Heavy." John commented, "I...just want to know if she's okay."  
  
"Sir, I assure you that she's fine. Neon is with her, plus her Highness is fully capable of taking care of herself. You know it and I know it." Heavy reassured as he vacuumed some lint off of the suit he was wearing.  
  
"I know...but with Blue Fang, Sleet and Dingo, and our new assailant...something like this would be the perfect oppotunity for a surprise attack." John thought.  
  
As Adonna-Lyn lay the white veil over face, her mind was pretty much on the same subject. Even thought John had invited many of his Freedom Fighter friends and his loyal compatriots to the wedding, she still couldn't shake the feeling she had. The feeling of grave danger.  
  
Neon Dragon, dressed in the guise of a bride's maiden, helped the echidna princess prepare for the wedding. Neon somehow sensed how tense the female echidna was and asked, "Are you okay?"  
  
"Hardly." Adonna-Lyn said, "For vile scum like Blue Fang, this is a golden opportunity for her to nail both me and my beloved John."  
  
"Don't worry your royal head off. Besides me and many of the others here, John is already prepared to deal with Blue Fang and her associates." Neon coaxed, "So...what do you think of John?"  
  
"For starters, he's noble, loyal, and chivalrous; all really rare qualities in a man. And, when you look past his...morally-dubious deeds, he really is quite romantic." she sighed.  
  
"I guess." Neon said...as she checked the blaster she was given, to make sure the clip was full.  
  
Now, Vector and Heavy stood at the altar, awaiting John and Adonna-Lyn to walk up the aisle. Bomb was positioned at the organ, while the priest, a figure hidden in light-brownish robes and a hood, awaited the soon-to-be husband and wife.  
  
Vector was sniffling a bit. Heavy noticed and said, "Why, sir Vector. Why are you releasing sodium-chloride from your eyes?"  
  
"I'm...I'm just so proud of John. To think, several years ago, he was a lonely little guy, without a friend in the world." Vector said, "And now, he's getting hitched. Our little boy's grown up."  
  
"You forget, Vector, he's not 'our little boy'." Heavy whispered.  
  
"I know that." Vector replied, "It's just that...ah, forget it."  
  
Bomb began to play the wedding music as John began to walk up the aisle. As soon as John was at the altar, Adonna-Lyn began to slowly stroll down the aisle.  
  
Tachiguy, who was with NoOman, ChowChow, Scribblez, Globbycat, and Shaman Tautara, started crying. NoOman saw the little ferret-like Pokemon whimpering and asked, "Hey, Tach, it's alright. This is, after all, a blessed event."  
  
Tachiguy turned to NoOman and said, "It's not that...it's...because that gorgious echidna dame is marrying a bounty hunter and not me!" The "long body" Pokemon then broke down into furious fits of sorrow.  
  
"Awe, c'mere, you little knucklehead." Globbycat said as he picked up the Ootachi and held him up at the end of the pew.  
  
For the most part, the shrouded priest was quick about going through the usual pronouncements, getting down to the vows.  
  
"John Echidna, do you take this lovely young lady to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, for better and for worse, till death do you part?" the priest said.  
  
John looked into Adonna-Lyn's purple eyes and said, "I do."  
  
"Adonna-Lyn, do you take this....er, fine fellow to be your lawfully wedded husband...yadda yadda yadda, till death do you part?"  
  
"I...I do." she replied, a bit worried. She telepathically asked, "John, this priest is going awefully quick through what should be a highly religious sacrement."  
  
"I know. Don't worry, the priest is on our side." he telepathically reassured her.  
  
"If there is some numbskull who thinks these two echidnas should not tie the preverbial knot, please speak now or forever shut your gob." the priest announced.  
  
"That sounds like a cue if ever I've heard one." Jirrard stated as he got out of one of the pews.  
  
"Oh, no! What is he doing here?!" Adonna-Lyn thought angrily.  
  
"Now this guy, I remember." John whispered to her, "Just stay behind me."  
  
"I am Adonna-Lyn's true husband-to-be, not this low-life scum!" Jirrard proclaimed to the gathered people, "And I will take her back from you, John the Enforcer!"  
  
"Really? You and what army?" John said as the Chaotix aimed blasters at the vile desert prince.  
  
Jirrard grinned as his dark green eyes began to glow. But the glow was only for a few seconds before it faded back to regular color. Adonna-Lyn knew that look. It was a signal.  
  
Suddenly, a loud noise began to fill the air. The stain-glass windows began to shatter. And then the one who was generating the loud noise came soaring in through one of the shattered windows. It was Lady Screech!  
  
Sleet and Dingo ran up from the church doors, armed with guns that they used to encase those gathered into blocks of ice. Only NoOman and his friends were quick enough to duck and avoid it.  
  
A dark red cloud began to form alongside Jirrard, before it dissipated and took the shape of Blue Fang!  
  
"Why, this army, of course." Jirrard replied as the other villains then gathered right next to him.  
  
Neon got ready to project a fireball at Jirrard, just as Screech turned to face her and released a loud scream that launched the Detrossian against the wall behind her, leaving it up to Sleet to freeze Neon and pin her there.  
  
"Dragon-cicle, best served cold!" Sleet laughed.  
  
"And now, for you!" Blue Fang said, directing her comment at John, "Lady Screech, if you would?"  
  
The vampire bat sorceress grinned and replied, "It would be my pleasure!" She then released a high frequency screech that forced John to his knees, trying his best to cover his earholes and block out the loud noise.   
  
Jirrard took this moment to come up and bash John upside the head. "Hmm...you're not so tough as the galaxy has made you up to be."  
  
"Leave him alone, Jirrard!" Adonna-Lyn said, her fists clenched and ready to send the smirking prince into next week...only to be frozen up to her neck.  
  
"Not so fast, little princess." Sleet snickered.  
  
Blue Fang then came forward and threw a vial filled with a dark purple liquid at John. The potion within began to spread all over John, encasing him within a dark, shiny, crystalline rock.  
  
"Whoa! That's pretty cool." Dingo cheered, "Now what?"  
  
Blue Fang grinned and waved her hands around John. Within a matter of seconds, the blue echidna vanished from their sight.  
  
"NOOOOOO!" Adonna-Lyn sceamed.  
  
"So, uh...whadya do?" Dingo asked.  
  
Blue Fang, her vile grin still on her face, said, "I just transported him to the bottom of the Mobian sea. There is no possible way he could break out of that crystal. And if he does...well, it's a long way back to the surface."  
  
Jirrard harshly grabbed Adonna-Lyn by the chin and sneered, "And even if he does manage to get back here, he'll be too late, because we will be gone...with her in my arms. Thank goodness that John fellow took care of all that vow stuff. Now, all it takes is a kiss, and Adonna-Lyn is mine!"  
  
The echidna princess knew this was going to be a near hopeless situation, until the priest spoke up, "Just a minute! Considering this is for a different couple, I must start the ceremony all over again."  
  
"WHAT?! That's just ridi-" Jirrard started until he commented, "Fine. Fine. Whatever! Just as long as Adonna-Lyn and I are wed sometime today!"  
  
The deepest part of the Mobian Sea...  
  
John awoke to the feeling of something getting very hot where he was. He looked straight ahead, and saw nothing but darkness. He looked below and saw a red glow...like the glow of lava. He didn't see any stars above him, so he came to the conclusion that he was within the ocean's depths...near a volcanic vent!  
  
He then noticed that part of the dark red crystal he was trapped in was beginning to melt away from the volcanic heat. Closing his eyes and focusing his powers, he forced a crack to increase in size, enough to break the crystal. Suddenly, as he freed himself from what would have been a slow and fiery death, he felt incredible pressure hitting his torso, trying to force his lungs to collapse. Using his dreadlocks like an octopus's tentacles, he began to shoot himself upward to the surface of the ocean, using his glasses in INFRARED MODE to help him avoid colliding with any underwater rocks or creatures.  
  
Upon reaching the surface, he released a long gasp and took in a large breath of air to compensate for his half-hour without air.  
  
He looked up and saw the Floating Island above him, slowly floating away from his location. Adon was still on the island, no doubt, but as for her mortality...John quickly activated his armor and flew up to the underside of the island, digging his way to the church.  
  
Back at the church...  
  
After the 22nd time Adonna-Lyn whipped Jirrard across the face with her dreadlocks for his attempts to kiss her, the priest threw up his hands in disgust and snapped, "That does it! I cannot continue this! She clearly does not like him, let alone, love him! This wedding is off!"  
  
"Well, they could always divorce." Dingo offered.  
  
"WHO ASKED YOU?!" Jirrard snapped.  
  
Suddenly, the ground began to rumble.  
  
"What the hell?!" Sleet asked, looking around.  
  
The priest thought, "So....he's back."  
  
  
  
NoOman and his friends, too, felt the violent vibrations. NoO knew instinctively that it wasn't an earthquake. After all, this was the Floating Island, a piece of land separated from the rest of Mobius. Globbycat asked, "What was that, NoO?"  
  
Scribblez whispered, "Keep your voice down! You want them to hear us?!  
  
Tachiguy agreed, "Yeah. Let's git', while the gittin's good!"  
  
NoOman, however, disagreed, "No. We're not leaving until we help these people out of this situation and deal with those goons!"  
  
"How? They have weaponsssss. We don't." Shaman quietly argued.  
  
"So?! These Freedom Fighters, for the most part, fought their war with the Eggman without weapons. Why can't we? It would be a fight they wouldn't expect." NoOman planned.  
  
"Besssssidesssss, that Detrosssssian Dragon there might not lasssssst long unlesssssss sssssssshe'ssssssss defrossssssted immidiately. Her kind cannot ssssssstand icssssssse for long!" Shaman agreed.  
  
"Okay, we're with you on this, NoO. What's the plan?" Globbycat asked.  
  
"Um...plan?" NoO gulped.  
  
"I knew it. We're doomed." Tachiguy sputtered.  
  
Suddenly, the vibrations became worse as a slapping of skin was heard, followed by Adonna-Lyn's cry of pain.  
  
"It could be the Enforcer." they heard Blue Fang growl, "Sleet, Dingo, go check it out!"  
  
They watched as Sleet and Dingo came down the aisle...just as a pair of dark, metallic tentacles came out of the ground, wrapped around the Luperians' throats and slammed their heads together, knocking them out. NoOman somehow knew it was John, in his armor, and, from what his empathy told him, the echidna bounty hunter was extremely pissed off! He did his best to block out John's rage...barely...  
  
"Okay. Here's the plan: when he comes out of the ground, we'll jump Blue Fang and those other two creeps as the Enforcer distracts them, giving him a chance to take them out." NoOman planned, "Any questions?  
  
"Just one, actually." Globbycat asked, "Why would the Enforcer be helping John's bride?  
  
"Because John the Echidna IS the Enforcer, Globby, ol' boy." NoOman replied.  
  
Adonna-Lyn smiled at Jirrard and said, "Look's like it's game over for you, Jirrard. John is going to kick your ass!"  
  
"I will not tolerate such talk from my wife!" Jirrard snapped as he raised his hand to slap Adonna-Lyn again.  
  
Suddenly, a metallic clawed hand came up out of the ground and gripped Jirrard's wrist. That hand was then followed by John, completely covered in his armor.  
  
"Stay away from my wife-to-be, you son of a bitch!" John roared in Jirrard's face as he used his other hand to bash the vile echidna prince across the face and send him crashing into the block of ice that Neon was trapped in, freeing the Detrossian.  
  
"So, I finally meet the bounty hunter responsible for treating my Dark Sister so cruelly. I will enjoy drinking your blood!" Screech cackled.  
  
"Oh, shut up." John muttered as he fired a blast that hit Screech and sent her right on top of Sleet and Dingo.  
  
"NOW!" NoOman shouted as he and his friends tackled Blue Fang from behind.  
  
John turned to Adonna-Lyn and, with his eyes glowing within his armor, broke the ice that trapped the echidna princess. "What kept you?" she asked.  
  
"I thought I'd wear my BEST SUIT to the wedding." John replied.  
  
Neon, still shuddering a bit from the ice she was trapped in, tried to push Jirrard off of her, despite how the ice partially robbed her of her vitality. Vector, who was recovering from the blow Sleet had delivered, saw Jirrard on Neon and growled, "Get off her, you sick animal!" The crocodile took off his headphones, adjusted the volume and released a loud blast of sound Jirrard's way.   
  
"No! Vector, don't!" Neon shouted. But her warning was too late. Jirrard sensed Vector preparing the sound blast and teleported out of the way, just as the blast hit Neon instead.  
  
"Oops." Vector gulped, realizing his mistake.  
  
Neon came out unscathed, but the blast tore up quite a considerable amount of the dress she was wearing. She came over to Vector, grabbed the headphones, placed them over the croc's ear-holes and cranked the volume to its maximum level! The blast of sound made Vector go into several fits before he fell to the ground, stunned by such an auditory overload.   
  
Blue Fang slashed at Globbycat, Scribblez and Shaman and forced them away from her. "Away, you pestilence!" she snapped.  
  
NoOman, seeing how much his friends were in pain, his empathy forcing him to feel the rage of Blue Fang and her goons, let out a roar of anger, charged at Blue Fang, and was trying to force his jaws around her throat to tear it out!  
  
"Get off of me, you canine freak!" she said as she aimed the palm of her hand at NoOman and shoved him off, launching him at Screech as she was getting back up. "He's all yours, my Dark Sister." Blue Fang said as she turned to face her main enemies.  
  
"Excellent." Screech hissed as she bared her fangs and prepared to sink them into NoOman's neck.  
  
"Hey, back off, you fanged bitch!" Tachiguy yelled, "If anyone, and I mean ANYONE reserves the right to bite that dog, it's me and ChowChow."  
  
"ChowChow?" Screech questioned.  
  
Tachiguy grinned and said, "Yeah. ChowChow. The little toothy fella down by your ankle."  
  
Screech looked down and saw what the Ootachi meant. ChowChow looked up at her, smiled and waved innocently, then opened his toothy mouth and bit into Screech's leg! The vampire bat sorceress let out a loud scream...only to have it silenced as NoO slammed his elbow into her face and knocked her out.  
  
"Not bad...for a beginner!" Tachiguy laughed.  
  
Meanwhile, John and Adonna-Lyn were duking it out with Jirrard and Blue Fang. John and the vixen enchantress exchanged blasts of energy at each other as Adon and the echidna ex-monarch fought hand-to-hand, claw-to-claw. But then Jirrard retreated a bit, his eyes glowing. Adonna-Lyn felt his power choking her, squeezing the fight out of her by her throat. Snickering, Jirrard came up, released Adonna-Lyn from his power, only to hold her in front of him, his scimitar aimed at her head.  
  
John noticed Jirrard after smacking Blue Fang away from him and shouted, "Let her go, Jirrard!"  
  
"I've a better idea: You die, and I keep Adonna-Lyn." Jirrard said, bringing the point of the scimitar's blade closer to her head, "Unless, of course, you're willing enough to fight for her."  
  
"Treating a living being as a prize to win in a fight to the death?" You're a sick, twisted freak!" Dave said, aiming his golden blade of light at Jirrard. He was the priest!  
  
"All's fair in love and war. Right, my love?" Jirrard laughed...as he then licked Adonna-Lyn's neck. She winced.  
  
John deactivated his armor. "I've a better idea, scumbag." John issued, "Let Adonna-Lyn decide who she wants to be with as her lover."  
  
"What?! You can't be serious!" Jirrard snapped.  
  
"Hear me out!" John ordered, "If she chooses me, then we fight, for I would do anything to keep Adonna-Lyn away from sadistic bastards like you. And...if she chooses you..."  
  
"Not bloody likely." Adonna-Lyn thought.  
  
"Then, you may have her, for I would want what is best for her. She would remain on Chandral, where she rightfully has authorative power, which she won't have here on Mobius." John finished.  
  
Adonna-Lyn was torn. She wanted to be with John as much as she wanted Jirrard's head on a spit, but she believed that John would be no match for the echidna prince's fighting skills. Finally, she shoved Jirrard against a wall and said, "Enjoy working with Blue Fang, Jirrard. She'll be the death of you." she said as she ran to her true lover.  
  
"You...you...you treacherous little wench! I'll make you pay for that!!!" Jirrard yelled as he charged up a psychic blast and fired it at her.  
  
A blast from Jirrard, with his age making him a bit more powerful than Adonna-Lyn, would prove quite fatal to the echidna princess. John knew that echidnas of Chandral got more powerful as they aged, and that the blast from Jirrard would kill Adonna-Lyn if it hit. So, with no other thought but to protect her, he teleported behind her and took the hit. The blast hit John in the chest and launched him on top of Adonna-Lyn.  
  
She was now pinned down, with John on top of her. She could smell the scent of burning flesh in the air. John was severely damaged from the blast, and his self-healing abilities seemed to be a bit slow in repairing that damage. Blue Fang, recovering from the smack she received from John, strolled up to Adonna-Lyn, extending her index finger's nail into a long blade. "Time to die, little princess!" she cackled.  
  
Jirrard fired a psychic blast at Blue Fang, scorching her left shoulder. "NO! She's mine!!!" he yelled at her.  
  
She angrily snarled, "You arrogant, back-stabbing fool! Vengence is rightfully mine!"  
  
"Your personal vendettas are no concern of mine!" Jirrard argued, "What matters is that I get what's mine, and the echidna princess falls under what is mine!"  
  
Blue Fang, with no other possible venue for her anger, raked her long nail-blade across Jirrard's chest. The vile desert prince aimed his scimitar at Blue Fang and snapped, "That will be your final mistake, witch!"  
  
Sleet and Dingo charged at Jirrard and properly restrained him from behind. Sleet aimed his blaster at the prince's back and fired, inflicting a deep wound upon the traitor. "Part of our deal with Blue Fang is to keep her alive for her to carry out vengence upon the Enforcer and the echidna girl there. And what you just did, pal...you brought it on yourself!" Sleet growled.  
  
Adonna-Lyn helped John up to his feet, healing him up with her own powers. Then, she heard a growl growing in John's throat, the pupils of his eyes glowing red. She could sense it meant no good.  
  
John turned to face the frozen gathered people and held out a small device, pressing a green button on it. The people in the pews vanished.  
  
"What the hell?!" Sleet gasped.  
  
"It's called a hologram, Sleet, you moron. Part of this was a trap. And now, to activate it." John said as his eyes began to glow. The Chaotix took that as their signal to evacuate the church. Dave began to pull Adonna-Lyn away from John, whose skin, as well as his eyes, were about to glow a very bright blue!  
  
"What are you doing?!" Adonna-Lyn asked as she was being led out of the church.  
  
"We have to get out of here, or we've had it!" Dave replied.  
  
Tachiguy looked at John, as he began to hover above the ground, putting his hands to his head. He remembered hearing about John's Mental Lightning Attack and its devastating effects, and quickly shouted to NoOman, "NoO! Let's get the hell outta here! He's gonna blow!"  
  
NoOman, realizing what Tachiguy meant, called to his friends, "Guys! Time to bail!"   
  
"You don't have to tell me twicsssssse, NoO!" Shaman called as GlobbyCat picked him up, despite the wounds they suffered from Blue Fang, and ran for the door.  
  
John unleashed his powerful synaptic attack upon Blue Fang and her crew. Part of the attack slammed into Jirrard and delivered a powerful jolt to Sleet and Dingo as well. Blue Fang launched the nail-blade from her finger and hit John right in the chest, causing the Mental Lighting Attack to soar out of control, tearing the apart the structure of the church. Blue Fang then engaged a teleportation spell getting her and her goons out of there, just as the church collapsed.  
  
Back in Blue Fang's lair...  
  
  
  
"Damn it, Blue Fang!" Jirrard hissed as Screech sewed up his wounds, "We had that Enforcer fool right where we wanted him and YOU...YOU had to ruin everything by teleporting us away from him!"  
  
"We cannot carry out our vengence against the Enforcer or Adonna-Lyn if we're dead, you ex-royal imbecile!" she shouted as Dingo pulled a bit of stain-glass out of her flesh.  
  
"That's it! I see no reason to continue this idiotic alliance if we are to keep running away, especially when victory is within our grasp!" Jirrard said as he got up and prepared to leave.  
  
Sleet got up from where he was sitting and said, "For once, royal boy's got a point. I certainly don't see our reward in this whole endeavor, Blue Fang. Go hunt the Enforcer and the royal bitch yourself. C'mon, Dingo!"  
  
As the echidna prince and the two Luperian bounty hunters were about to leave their cavern hideout, however, Blue Fang lauched a stream of dark energy at them and turned them around to face her hellfire glare! "NOW, LISTEN! Jirrard, your love has spurned you! Doesn't that make you feel the least bit enraged?"  
  
Jirrard growled, "Yeah, but,..."  
  
Blue Fang interrupted, "Sleet and Dingo, my offer stills stands and so does our deal! You will continue to serve me until those wretched echidnas are dead!"  
  
"Yeah, I guess so..." Sleet said, he and his partner's heads slumped in disappointment.  
  
Blue Fang grinned in satisfaction that she nipped this little mutiny in the bud. But her mind was still ablaze with her thoughts for revenge, and how long it would be until John and Adonna-Lyn would be dead. But she grinned even further. She saw John bleed...and she knew that anything that bleeds...can be killed...  
  
Back at the church (what's left of it)...  
  
Adonna-Lyn could not believe her eyes. The church had collapsed from losing its strong structure, due to John's powerful attack. But what was further hard to believe was that she could not sense John at all. And that could possibely mean one of two things: he was either unconcious, or....  
  
Vector, in a rather ineffectual attempt to console the echidna princess, put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Well, atleast he went down fighting."  
  
Upon hearing Vector's comment, she could not contain her sadness anymore. She put her head down into her hands and wept.  
  
"Smooth move, you idiot!" Neon snapped.  
  
"Hey, I was only trying to make her feel proud of our blue bro." Vector said sheepishly.  
  
Suddenly, a blue hand came out of the rubble and pushed as much of the debris aside, trying to dig its owner out. The others stood awestruck, as John heaved himself out of the destruction to the best of what strength he had left.  
  
"Will you look at that?" Mighty said.  
  
Adonna-Lyn looked up, saw John there, then ran up to him and...slugged him across the face!  
  
"John! How dare you scare me like that?! I thought I lost you for good!" she yelled at him...until she noticed a gaping wound in his chest that was slowly healing up, "Oh, John...you're injured!"  
  
"Eh, it's just a scratch." John chuckled as the wound completely sealed itself up.  
  
Adonna-Lyn smiled, then gasped, "Oh no! I forgot. John, we're not yet married...and with no priest..."  
  
John put his hand over he mouth gently and said, "It's okay. Dave?"  
  
Dave explained, "Well, Adonna-Lyn, not many people know this, but we Jedi do have that authorative power to wed people. Now with that in mind...John and Adonna-Lyn, by the power invested in me, you are now husband and wife. John, you may kiss the bride."  
  
With a smile, John embraced Adonna-Lyn and brought her lips to his.  
  
Vector pulled out a video camera and hit the record button. Neon noticed this and asked, "What are you you doing?"  
  
"Um...just recording this moment for posterity." Vector said as his excuse.  
  
Heavy, however, took notice of where the lense of the camera was pointed and said, "Vector, if you're recording this moment for posterity, as you claim you are, you had better aim the camera a little more to your right. You're cutting John completely out of the picture."  
  
"Shut up, Heavy..." Vector whispered harshly.  
  
Neon realized he was only filming Adonna-Lyn and then slugged the croc across his scaly mug!  
  
Charmy saw something that made his eyes go wide in wonder and signaled everyone to look. Even Neon, who was on top of Vector, strangling him, looked.  
  
John's chest was glowing for a moment. The glow then surged out of him and faded away.  
  
"The spell of the Cona-taan is broken, John Echidna. The pain you bore within you is now no more." Adonna-Lyn said with a tender smile.  
  
John smiled back and replied, "And thank goodness for that."...  
  
A while later...  
  
"So, where to next, John?" NoOman asked as Heavy loaded some suitcases aboard the ShadowHunter.  
  
John smiled and said, "Well, first, Adon and I are off to Chandral to pay a visit to her father and letting him know of our marriage. Then, I've planned a special honeymoon: Two weeks stay on the planet Naboo. The planet is a sight to see this time of year. And you?"  
  
NoOman replied, "Well, I guess my friends and I are off to the wilds of the Floating Island again. I'm still on a little journey of discovery myself."  
  
"Well, someday, our paths will probabley cross again. Until that time, I wish you the best of luck, my friend. And thank you." John said as he held his hand out.  
  
"And I hope you and your wife enjoy your honeymoon." NoOman said with a smile, shaking John's hand.  
  
Espio came up to John and asked, "John, who's gonna lead while you're away?"  
  
"Until I come back, Neon is in charge and in her abscence, Vector shall lead." John answered as he turned to board the ShadowHunter.  
  
Vector then asked, "Yo, Heavster! How come you're going?"  
  
Heavy turned and said, "Well, sir Vector, someone has to pilot the ShadowHunter, what with those two newly-weds on board."  
  
Finally, Heavy turned to Dave and said, "Master Dave, I thank you for your help."  
  
"A Jedi's job is a thankless one and it is part of my training not to expect thanks, but...you're welcome." Dave stated.  
  
Heavy then got on board and got the ship to take off.  
  
And as the light of the ship's engines faded into the sky, Vector turned to the others and asked, "So, what's for dinner?"  
  
Epilogue........  
  
The ShadowHunter snapped out of hyperspace and made its gradual approach to the planet Naboo. Heavy, John and his wife gazed upon the pristine planet in awe.  
  
"Oh, John. Naboo...it's so beautiful." she cooed.  
  
Heavy checked the scanner and said, "It's beautiful, alright...and surrounded by hundreds of spacestations, sir."  
  
John knew instinctively that those ships weren't there during the last time he came to Naboo. "What are they?" he asked.  
  
"According to the ship records...they're Trade Federation battleships!" Heavy reported.  
  
Now this was extremely odd. "What kind of business would cause the largest, greediest conglomerate of intersteller traders and merchants to set up a blockade of battleships around a peaceful planet like Naboo?" John wondered.  
  
But before his own intuition could bring about a reasonable answer, Heavy announced, "Sir, one of the vessals, called the ' Saak'ak ' is hailing us."  
  
"Adon, get next to me. We'll try to appear as tourists. Hopefully, whoever's in charge of that blockade will fall for it." John whispered.  
  
Then, appearing on the screen was the ugly, warty face of a Neimoidian. John knew these cowardly, deceitful guys were the head haunchos of the Trade Federation. This one looked particularly annoyed by the approach of the echidna bounty hunter's ship towards the blockade.  
  
"We have you on our screens. Turn your ship around or we shall open fire!" the Neimoidian ordered.  
  
"Let me talk to them, you idiot!" another Neimoidian orderd, shoving the first one out of he way. This one wore the ornamental headress of a Viceroy. The ShadowHunter's computer identified him as Nute Gunray, the Viceroy of the Trade Federation. The Viceroy bowed his head respectfully and said, "Please, accept my sincerest apologies for my comrade's stupidity. I am Viceroy Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation. Please state your name, your vessal's title and your business here."  
  
"This is John Echidna, captain of the Mobian Arrow. My lovely bride and I were currently on out way to Naboo for a honeymoon." John replied.  
  
Nute Gunray looked like he was trying to gather his thoughts and think of an appropriate response. He finally said, "A honeymoon. Yes. How...romantic. As a further token of apology, we shall send a squad of our finest fighte...I mean, pilots to escort you to the planet's surface."  
  
"Thanks, but that won't be necessary. I know the way down to our vacation destination. Thanks again." John said, while signalling Heavy to terminate the communication.  
  
"John, don't ask me why, but I have a bad feeling about this." Adonna-Lyn said as the ShadowHunter flew in between the semi-circular battleships.  
  
John frowned while glancing at the large vessels and replied, "So do I. Besides, that Neimoidian's apology was a lie."  
  
Heavy chuckled and said, "Kind of like that old joke about their race: How do you know if a Neimoidian is lying to you?"  
  
" 'When his mouth is open', I know. But so far, we're getting the red carpet treatment. So let's roll with it."  
  
Aboard the Saak'ak...  
  
  
  
"Daultry Dofine, you spineless idiot! You could have ruined everything!" Gunray shouted at the Saak'ak's captain.  
  
"I'm sorry, Viceroy, but I had my doubts about that vessel. What if they were smugglers, trying to get supplies past the blockade?" Dofine whimpered.  
  
"Well, no matter." the Viceroy said, gazing down on the planet with his greyish-pink eyes, "Once we receive the word from Lord Sidious, we shall unleash our armies upon this pathetic waste of a planet and wipe these would be smugglers out of existence. Is Rune Haako's niece in position in the Mobadan System?"  
  
"As we speak, Viceroy. Soon, both Mobius and Chandral will fall under the control of the Trade Federation and we shall show the Senate that we are not to be messed with!" Dofine snickered.  
  
THE END?........  
  
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Copyrights  
  
John the Enforcer, Adonna-Lyn, Neela and other characters are copyright of John Fadeley (me, silly!)  
  
Dave the Hedgehog and Kenny the Vampire Bat are copyright of David Fadeley  
  
Neon Dragon and Chrome Finger's Snake are copyright of Emma Goodman  
  
NoOman Dog, Tachiguy, ChowChow, and other characters are copyright of Jimi Newman, the supreme New Zealander!  
  
Scribblez Moonshadow, GlobbyCat, and Shaman Tuatara are copyright of their respective owners.  
  
The world of Mobius and its characters and locations are copyright of Sega, Sonic Team and Archie Comics  
  
Lightsabers, blasters and all creatures and aliens are copyright of Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox (or should that be 21st Century? Oh well...)  
  
All Pokemon and Nintendo-related characters involved in this fanfiction are copyright of Nintendo, Mario Team, Creatures and Gamefreak.  
  
*********************************************************************** Acknowledgements and Special Thanks  
  
To Emma Goodman: Thank you very much for your artwork and for the use of your characters. They both have helped to inspire this great work.  
  
To Jimi Newman: Thank you for the use of your characters in the creation of this chapter. I wish you happier days and a lot of love between you and Sheba.   
  
To Dave: Thanks for being with me bro and for allowing me the usage of the Gold Jedi. May your future days in Lakeland Community College be prosperous and full of pie. ^___~'  
  
To those respective owners: I owe you sincere apologies for not knowing your names and being able to acknowledge your connection to your characters. I thank you for their usage.  
  
To the companies I've mention: Thank you for the use of your characters and creatures for the creation of this fanfiction. Your hardwork and dedication to video gamers and movie goers everywhere has been a shining inspiration.  
  
To the Almighty: Once again, I thank you, God, for the creation of me and blessing me with my literary talents. May you be with us as we face our still troubled future.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Prepare for one interstellar adventure, as our heroes and heroines become involved in the events of "The Phantom Menace", in "The Enforcer Saga Chapter 6: Honeymoon and Star Wars." May the Force be with you. 


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